For the first time since the Dan Campbell-Brad Holmes era began in 2021, the Lions are heading into a season without Alex Anzalone in the linebacker room. That changes the shape of the group immediately, and it leaves Jack Campbell as the clear centerpiece.
Campbell is coming off a huge 2025 season, one that earned him All-Pro recognition and a career-best 90.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. Among 88 qualified linebackers, that mark ranked second. He’ll be the middle linebacker, and everything in Detroit’s front seven now starts with him.
The more open questions sit around him. Derrick Barnes looks positioned to handle SAM linebacker duties after putting together the best full season of his career a year ago. He started every game for the first time and finished with four sacks, six tackles for loss, 78 total tackles, an interception and a safety.
At WILL, Malcolm Rodriguez enters camp as the favorite to win the job. After battling back from the ACL injury he suffered late in the 2024 season, Rodriguez was limited to seven games in 2025.
He didn’t get into live action until Week 11, but once he did, he posted 12 total tackles and a tackle for loss. Now the 27-year-old has a real chance to open a season as a starter for the first time in his NFL career.
He won’t have the path to himself, though. Jimmy Rolder, Detroit’s fourth-round pick in April, made noise this spring and took most of his OTA and mandatory minicamp reps with the second-team defense. The Michigan product has put himself in position to push for a bigger role if he keeps it going into training camp.
Behind the likely top four, the battle for the final linebacker spot looks tight. Trevor Nowaske is back for his fourth season with the Lions, while Damone Clark arrives as a free-agent addition after most recently being with the Texans.
Nowaske, a Saginaw Valley State product, is coming off a season with 22 tackles and a sack. Clark split time between the Cowboys and Texans in 2025 and finished with 28 total tackles.
At this point, Nowaske appears to have the edge because of his experience in Detroit, and Clark looks like a candidate to begin the season on the practice squad.
Also in camp are seventh-year veteran Joe Bachie and undrafted rookie Erick Hunter, giving the Lions a full group to sort through as they shape the linebacker depth chart.
In Other News...
These Lions Depth Names Suddenly Feel Far Less Safe
The Lions back end of the roster is starting to look a lot less settled as the team turns its attention toward 2026, and that matters because the margins are where depth charts are won and lost. In a group of players sitting in the 60-to-51 range on the current projection, there are familiar names mixed with newer faces, and the common thread is simple: recent production, special teams value and positional flexibility are going to decide who sticks around.
For players like Jacob Saylors and Tom Kennedy, the appeal is obvious because both have already shown they can help in the kicking game, while Nick Whiteside is trying to turn a late-season flash into something more durable. Even the young linemen and defensive depth pieces in this tier are feeling the pressure of a roster that keeps adding competition, which is why this part of the list reads less like a formality and more like an audition that could still go a few different directions. [Read more 🡒]
Lions May Have An Answer To Their Cornerback Problem
The Lions spent the offseason trying to stabilize a cornerback group that suddenly looks a lot thinner than it did a few months ago, and that has pushed the front office back into the market for help. Free agency and trade both make sense as paths to add depth, especially with Detroit trying to keep its secondary from becoming a weak spot in a defense built to play aggressively on the outside.
One name that has started to surface is San Francisco's Renardo Green, a young corner who has already seen meaningful snaps and fits the kind of scheme Detroit likes to run. The 49ers have enough depth at the position to consider moving a defender, and Green's profile gives the Lions something they badly need: a potential long-term answer rather than just a short-term patch. [Read more 🡒]
Sam LaPorta Just Put Lions Fans In A Tough Spot
Sam LaPortas name still carries plenty of weight around the league, even after a season that ended far earlier than anyone in Detroit wanted. In ESPNs recent survey of executives, coaches and scouts, the Lions tight end was ranked No. 4 among NFL tight ends, a reminder that his impact has stretched well beyond the box score and into the way opponents have to account for him.
What makes that placement especially notable is how efficient LaPorta was when he was on the field in 2025. His yards after the catch and catch rate were among the best at the position, which only adds to the frustration of seeing his year cut short. Dan Campbell said LaPortas rehab is moving in the right direction and that he should be available for training camp, which gives Detroit a reason to feel better even as the bigger question lingers. [Read more 🡒]