ALEX ANZALONE

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions took Oklahoma State linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft. Rodriguez was a five-year player at Oklahoma State, and one of the most productive linebackers in this class. The linebacker had 129 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, three sacks and one interception in his redshirt senior season. He leaves Stillwater with 408 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. The Lions have two picks left on the final day, both in the seventh round at Picks 217 and 237.

The Detroit Lions are also re-signing quarterback David Blough, according to ESPN. Blough is the seventh player Detroit has re-signed in the last week, and the second quarterback, joining fellow backup Tim Boyle. That includes big extensions for safety Tracy Walker (three years, $25 million) and pass rusher Charles Harris (two years, $14 million). The only player Detroit has lost in free agency is Jalen Reeves-Maybin, a special teams standout who just agreed to a two-year deal with Houston that is worth $7.5 million and includes $5 million in guarantees. With Reeves-Maybin out in Detroit, the book is closed on the Lions’ 2017 draft class.

“We’re not just searching for one-year deal guys. Chark can sign his deal when the signing period opens at 4 p.m. today. But to this point, that one-year deal is the only agreement in place with an external player. Walker said not to get too hung up on Detroit bringing back so many players from a three-win team. Yeah, I feel like we’re on the come-up.”Here’s a look at where things stand heading into the signing period later today.

The first day of free agency negotiations is well underway, and quite a bit of money has been sent around to get the week started. Quandre Diggs re-signed with the Seattle Seahawks for a reported $40 million deal over three seasons. The agreement includes a $20 million signing bonus, and the salary goes from $1.5 million to $15.5 million in Year 2. This post will continue to update as more signings and happenings occur:2022 NFL free agency tracker: Latest signings, trades, contract info for all 32 teams -- NFL.comCould Baker Mayfield get traded? Hilton: I’m A Free Agent, So If You Want Me, Come Get Me -- Pro Football TalkJacksonville Jaguars make free agency splash, land Brandon Scherff, Christian Kirk -- Florida Times-UnionPackers Re-Signing All-Pro Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell -- Sports IllustratedJaguars’ free agency moves point toward Aidan Hutchinson at No.

Let the dealing begin — if mostly unofficial.

Alex Anzalone didn’t have the best on-field season during his first with the Detroit Lions. Anzalone re-signed with the Lions in the minutes leading into the opening of the negotiating window. Anzalone added that he felt a mindset change during his first season with the Lions, though, especially down the stretch. Anzalone and Williams were selected by the Saints in the same draft class, playing four seasons together in New Orleans. I definitely will.”Related headlines:Free agency live tracker: Detroit Lions start day by re-signing Alex Anzalone, Tim Boyle to new dealsDetroit Lions free agency preview: Safety Marcus Williams looks like the top name to watchFree agency primer: Detroit Lions expected to increase spending when market opensDetroit Lions strengthen offensive line by reportedly signing Evan Brown to 1-year dealReport: Detroit Lions re-signing special teams ace, safety C.J.

The Lions lack talent throughout their roster, and they can use help in NFL free agency at every position in coach Dan Campbell's second season.

The Detroit Lions will need to find a new inside linebackers coach after Mark DeLeone departs after only one season, per the Detroit News. DeLeone landed with the Lions after coaching inside linebackers for the Chicago Bears. Brian Duker (defensive assistant), Stephen Thomas (defensive quality control) and David Corrao (director of football research) remain in Detroit. He served as inside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Princeton University across six seasons before coming to Detroit. Corrao also had a stint as a defensive quality control coach with the Miami Dolphins.

Anzalone added 78 tackles, one sack and seven pass deflections but also missed a whopping 21 tackles. Fourth-round rookie Derrick Barnes added 42 tackles and two sacks in a rotational role. Ben’s grade: DBreakdown: This team’s coaching staff loves Reeves-Maybin, and it’s easy to envision him back in Detroit in 2022. He and Anzalone head into the offseason without contracts, leaving the team with Barnes and Curtis Bolton. Pro Football Focus had Barnes ranked as the third-worst linebacker in the league with enough snaps to qualify.

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions did a lot of good work this past season. Everyone needs good glue, and the Lions have a lot of guys who could fit that kind of role for a contender. But I just don’t think he’s the answer for the rebuild. I love these guys, especially Jacobs, but I’m scared they have “empty” stats and they would be bench players on a good team. Anyway, I don’t think so.

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions are signing linebacker Curtis Bolton off their practice squad, according to his agent. Bolton has already played the last three weeks on special teams anyway, logging 35 snaps as a COVID replacement for Detroit. Now he’s earned a spot on the 53-man roster, offering some depth at linebacker in addition to his contributions on special teams. A former Oklahoma linebacker who went undrafted in 2019, Bolton has gone on to have stints with the Packers, Texans, Colts, 49ers and now Lions over the last three years. He didn’t make his NFL debut until he landed with Detroit late this season, and has three tackles in three games while playing exclusively on special teams.

Dan Campbell has already shown himself to be an aggressive coach.

This season has never been easy for Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell.

DETROIT -- The Lions have lost yet another starter to injury. Linebacker Alex Anzalone will not play again this season because of a right shoulder injury he sustained in the 30-12 win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Ford Field. The injury is not believed to be long term, but the timing of it -- with just three games to go -- will end his first season in Detroit after 14 games. He played the last four seasons in New Orleans, where Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn were on staff. The running back is expected to return to practice this week after missing the last three games with a shoulder injury of his own.

Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was taken to a hospital for a head injury after he was carted off the field in the third quarter of Denver’s 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Kyler Murray had a shaky performance and that helped the Detroit Lions stun the Arizona Cardinals 30-12 on Sunday.

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions will be without running back D’Andre Swift for the third straight week due to his shoulder injury. Edge defender Julian Okwara (ankle) will join Swift on the sideline, missing his second straight game. Lions coach Dan Campbell said it’s unlikely they’ll get anyone back from that list despite the league making changes to protocols. Without Swift and Williams in the backfield, it should be another weekend of Craig Reynolds, Godwin Igwebuike and Jermar Jefferson. Shane Zylstra has been elevated from the practice squad, with the tight end catching two of six targets for 18 yards last week.

The Detroit Lions knew they didn’t have much of a chance against the Denver Broncos.

The Lions lost six players to COVID last week, including starters like safety Tracy Walker, running back Jamaal Williams and center Evan Brown. That’s exactly what happened, as the Broncos overwhelmed the Lions with a 24-0 scoring run to put the game on ice. With the players the Lions put in uniform on Sunday, they had no shot. With the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals on deck next week, well, the only shot they seem to have left is for the No. 1 overall pick -- and in a league that includes Urban Meyer’s Jacksonville Jaguars, that is really saying something.

The Denver Broncos honored the late Demaryius Thomas with a 38-10 win over Detroit and tributes including a video montage and a moment of silence.

The Detroit Lions (1-10-1) are on the road after their first win of the season, drawing the Denver Broncos (6-6) in Week 14 action. On the bright side, Jared Goff got it clicking with receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds and tight end Brock Wright in last week’s win. Detroit’s secondary has shown flashes, with Amani Oruwariye’s five interceptions and the gradual growth from undrafted rookie Jerry Jacobs. The Lions have worked Cabinda with the tight end room some, with Nick Eubanks and Shane Zylstra on the practice squad. Zylstra converted from wide receiver to tight end while with the Vikings in camp.

DETROIT -- Lions linebacker Josh Woods has been a special teams staple since landing in Detroit but had drawn only four defensive snaps leading into week 13. Reeves-Maybin and rookie Derrick Barnes had split most of the work behind Alex Anzalone to this point, so it was interesting to see Woods jump ahead of the fourth-round rookie. Pro Football Focus docked Woods for his work against the pass while ranking him 12th among linebackers on the ground. -- Alim McNeill was right there with his fellow rookie on the defensive line, drawing a career-high 43 snaps. -- Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds dominated the snaps out wide, both seeing more than 60 snaps in the win.

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions plan to honor the Oxford shooting victims during their game on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field. Line is now the head football coach at Oxford, and one of his star players -- Tate Myre -- was killed in the shooting. “Tate was and will always be a beaming light for Oxford,” Line tweeted this week. “I feel like there’s no better person in that position to help the community get through something like this,” Anzalone said. More than two decades later, he broke into tears when asked about yet another school shooting that occurred just miles away from him.

The Detroit Lions, for all the mistakes they had made Thursday against the Chicago Bears, still had one chance to pick up their first win of the season.

The Detroit Lions for all the mistakes they had made Thursday against the Chicago Bears still had one chance to pick up their first win of the season.

The Bears used an 18-play, 64-yard drive to eat the game’s final 8 minutes, 30 seconds to put the Lions away. They started at their own 21-yard line, gaining six first downs, kicking the game-winning 28-yard field goal at the buzzer. “They really came out throwing the ball early,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said when asked about the final drive. “They were going to try and loosen up the front and try and open us up and back us up a little bit. It was a heavy dose of Montgomery, with the running back running six times for 17 yards on that game-winning series.

Campbell said he tried to call the second timeout because half his secondary was in the wrong defense, and a touchdown was inevitable. “Half of our secondary had one call, half had the other, and so, yeah, banged the timeout,” Campbell said. How does half the secondary line up wrong coming out of a timeout? While the double timeout was costly, it’s hard to figure out what the Lions were doing in the defense they did end up going with anyway. Safety Will Harris was in the nickel on Byrd, but was giving him 7-8 yards of cushion on the third-and-4 play.

The Detroit Lions' annual Thanksgiving Day game traditionally showcases one of the NFL's most downtrodden franchises.

The winless Detroit Lions will kick off the NFL’s schedule of games on Thanksgiving as usual and their guests have plenty of problems of their own for a change.

ALLEN PARK -- Derrick Barnes has seen consistent work at linebacker since the Detroit Lions released Jamie Collins, with the fourth-round rookie making sure he’s prepared to handle more down the line. Barnes has seen four starts, playing at least 31% of the defensive snaps since Collins went back to New England. Neither has been perfect, but there have been enough steps in the right direction for the fourth-round rookie. I was actually echoing the calls Alex, something we’ve got going on now. “You have to make sure you’ve got the calls out, make sure you’re communicating, make sure you know the right calls, move fronts, different things like that,” Barnes said.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The Detroit Lions dropped an NFL-worst 11th straight game on Sunday, a 28-19 setback against Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. Every rookie hits a rough patch eventually, and that’s exactly what happened to the first-round pick in Chicago and Minnesota. For a guy who hadn’t allowed a sack at all since Sept. 20, 2018, it was a humbling experience. Heck, he allowed just one hit combined, and none at all in a massive performance on Sunday against the Rams. He showed no fear whatsoever against Donald either, who is perhaps the sinle most terrifying player in the game.

DETROIT -- Detroit Lions receiver KhaDarel Hodge got the first start after Quintez Cephus went down, with the team shuffling things around out wide in Week 6. The Lions lost 34-11 to the Cincinnati Bengals, coming out of the weekend as the NFL’s last remaining winless team. Kalif Raymond led the receivers with 56 of 63 snaps, catching six of seven targets for 37 yards. Amon-Ra St. Brown was next in line with 49 plays, catching five passes for 26 yards. D’Andre Swift was on for 49 plays, running 13 times for 24 yards and one touchdown, adding five catches for 43 yards.

DETROIT -- The Lions lost a third straight game to open the season, this one by a 19-17 score on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens at Ford Field. The adjustments at linebacker, where Detroit is moving on from Jamie Collins, paid immediate dividends. And yes, with an opportunity to win the game on fourth-and-long in the final seconds, the Lions blew it. The Lions’ offense stagnated late in Green Bay and early against Baltimore, leading to four quarters and more than 70 minutes without a point. Detroit made a conscious effort to get Swift more involved coming out of halftime, and voila, good things started happening.

The Baltimore Ravens are favored to beat Detroit by more than a touchdown and it is easy to understand why.

Two games into the season, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell is still trying to find a foundation for his struggling defense.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- After their reworked defense got pasted by San Francisco and Green Bay to open the season, the Detroit Lions are considering making a change at linebacker. “Yeah, I think Barnes deserves a shot,” Campbell said. That gave Green Bay a fresh set of downs deep in Lions territory, and Aaron Jones needed just two plays to tack on another touchdown. Column: It’s time for the Detroit Lions to play Derrick BarnesThat has heightened calls for Anzalone to be replaced this week. He’s high-effort, he’s smart, he’s kind of what we’re about here.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Detroit Lions were heavy underdogs at Lambeau Field, and rightfully so. That 5-yard touchdown pass to Cephus moments later? He was burned by tight end Robert Tonyan for a 22-yard touchdown pass that put the Packers back ahead for good in the third quarter, 21-17. And at some point, it makes you wonder whether the time has already arrived for Detroit to turn to promising rookie Derrick Barnes. We’re going to be looking at receivers, we’re going to be looking at our ‘backers, we’re going to be looking at everybody.

The Detroit Lions started fast in Green Bay, with Jared Goff throwing early touchdown passes to Quintez Cephus and T.J. Hockenson to give Detroit an early 14-7 lead. Then Goff had all day to find Cephus for a wide-open 5-yard score to give Detroit a quick 7-0 lead. It didn’t really matter so much in the first half because the Lions’ long scoring drives limited him to three series. And with that, another Lions season is already swirling the drain heading into a Week 3 game against the Baltimore Ravens at Ford Field. That gave the Packers a fresh set of downs at Detroit’s 25-yard line, and left Detroit dangerously thin at cornerback.

Among that group, only Flowers served as a captain last year, while Goff and Anzalone weren’t with the team at all. It’s unusual for players to elect newcomers as captains, although with just 26 players back from last season, most teams don’t undergo this kind of turnover either. Last year’s captains were Flowers, Matthew Stafford, Taylor Decker, Jarrad Davis, Duron Harmon and Don Muhlbach. Then the Lions traded Stafford, before letting Davis and Harmon walk in free agency and cutting Muhlbach late in camp. It has been a year of sweeping change in Detroit, and that includes in its positions of leadership.

A new era of Detroit Lions football kicks off Friday at Ford Field. There’s another new GM and head coach, and Matthew Stafford won’t be starting at quarterback.

ALLEN PARK -- It’s no secret the linebackers have played a prominent role in the defensive struggles for the Detroit Lions in recent years. Detroit’s defense is expected to attack the quarterback more, moving Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara to outside linebacker in its base 3-4 defense. Once it starts to click, guys really, you know, start to make plays on the ball and everything like that. He joins a Lions defense fresh off another season finishing near the bottom of the league in every meaningful category. The first-year Lions linebacker brushed it off as nothing more than “just football, just football,” saying it’s all about keeping the energy high and atmosphere fresh after an off day.

You’d be hard-pressed to find another organization that has undergone more change than your Detroit Lions. Today, those very new-look Lions open training camp in Allen Park. When it comes to inside linebackers, most eyes in training camp will be on rookie Derrick Barnes, then the development and deployment of Jahlani Tavai and Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Tavai has been regarded as one of the worst linebackers in football, struggling like none other in pass coverage. Roster projection: Jamie Collins, Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes, Jahlani Tavai, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Trey Flowers (EDGE), Romeo Okwara (EDGE), Charles Harris (EDGE), Julian Okwara (EDGE)

Tavai was drafted in 2019′s second round by the ousted regime due to his desirable size coming out of Hawaii. The Lions added ex-Saints linebacker Alex Anzalone, then traded up to get Purdue linebacker Derrick Barnes in the fourth round. Barnes is an athlete with burners unknown to Tavai, adding fuel to the fire that the former second-rounder could be on the way out. Despite these cloudy circumstances, new Lions inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone is optimistic about Tavai’s future not only with the team but inside this scheme. Reeves-Maybin has been a standout for the Lions on special teams but hasn’t seen the field much on defense.

The NFL released offseason workout dates Thursday, weeks after the NFLPA put out statements on behalf of 21 teams saying they would sit out workouts

He had 41 tackles last season and ranked 34th among linebackers according to ProFootballFocus -- better than all of Detroit’s linebackers except Collins. I mean, we went back and watched him in 2019 when he played at linebacker quite a bit. But he just hasn’t run well enough or tackled well enough or played well enough for Detroit. I’ve said it all along, you’d like to go into this draft and not draft off need. But seventh overall could be a little rich for Parsons, and he might make more sense in a trade-back situation.

You want to make your guys better? Roster moves are much easier to quantify, and the Lions have made some changes during the first wave of free agency. He’ll have a better supporting cast too, with Josh Hill signed in free agency to replace the dearly departed Jesse James. Because the Detroit Lions’ pass rush was awful any way you want to measure it. At long snapper, Don “Death And Taxes” Mulhbach returns for his 167th season in Detroit, give or take.

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions are dipping their toes into Dan Campbell’s connections, signing ex-Saints linebacker Alex Anzalone to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million per the NFL Network. Outside of the team retaining Jalen Reeves-Maybin, the linebacker room has experienced nothing but departures in recent weeks. Anzalone is the first addition, joining Lions linebackers Jamie Collins, Jahlani Tavai and Shaun Dion Hamilton. Anzalone is the second former Saints player to land in Detroit, joining tight end Josh Hill. Related: Detroit Lions reportedly hosting ex-Falcons safety Damontae Kazee on free-agent visitAnzalone has dealt with injuries since going in 2017′s third round to New Orleans but has shown athletic flashes when on the field.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes in the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. The victory kept the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (13-1) in pole position to capture the AFC's lone playoff bye as a No. Mahomes' second TD toss looked more like a basketball assist, a chest-pass to tight end Travis Kelce cutting behind blockers for a 1-yard score. With two timeouts remaining, the Saints kicked deep, but could not prevent Mahomes and Co. from running out the clock. Saints: Receiver Tre'Quan Smith and safety Marcus Williams each left with ankle injuries in the second half.