Lions’ $18 Million Defensive Star Unexpectedly Named as Potential Cut.
The Detroit Lions find themselves in a good spot financially this offseason, which means they aren’t desperate to start cutting players in order to be in position to improve the roster in 2025.
According to Over the Cap, the Lions are projected to have a healthy $43.9 million in effective cap space (the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster) to work with.
On top of a strong cap space situation, Detroit also has a very talented roster that does not have many holes to fill. As a result, we wouldn’t be at all shocked if general manager Brad Holmes doesn’t cut anyone this offseason.
In a recent article naming nine potential cap casualties for the Lions in 2025, Pride of Detroit’s John Whiticar shockingly had linebacker Alex Anzalone on the list. Here’s his reasoning for including Anzalone.
“The Lions have a pair of defensive starters with intriguing potential cap savings in the $4.8 million range,” Whiticar wrote. “The Lions have some young players ready to take up their starting roles, so the Lions could save some money while opening up a spot atop the depth chart. Jack Campbell is viewed as the eventual leader of the linebacking corps, while Ennis Rakestraw has the talent to develop into a capable cornerback on the outside or at nickel.
“The argument for cutting Anzalone and Robertson ends there, however,” Whiticar added. “As we witnessed this past season, defensive depth is critical. When the Lions lost Derrick Barnes, it led to an increased role for Campbell, a role that he proved capable of handling. Now that Barnes is a pending free agent, the Lions cannot afford to sacrifice further linebacking depth. Anzalone was playing at a high level in 2024 as well. If his play dips, they can let him walk in 2026 free agency. There is no urgency to cut ties with Anzalone this year.”
The other defensive starter Whiticar was talking about was cornerback Amik Robertson, who is someone else we don’t believe the Lions will cut. After all, Robertson was good last season and the Lions already have a question mark at cornerback thanks to pending free agent Carlton Davis.
There is simply no way the Lions cut Anzalone. Lest we forget, the Lions’ defense was night-and-day better after he returned from injury, which just goes to show how valuable Anzalone is to this team.
Cutting Anzalone would also leave a gaping hole at linebacker, one the Lions are not able to fill with the players currently under contract.
Granted, the Lions do have Jack Campbell, but Derrick Barnes is slated to be a free agent and neither Malcolm Rodriguez nor Jalen Reeves-Maybin should be starting, and both would be a significant downgrade from Anzalone, also.
As if all that wasn’t enough to justify keeping Anzalone, his contract is a good one, as he’s set to account for a cap hit of just $7.2 million in 2025. Meanwhile, cutting him would save just $4.8 million and incur a dead-cap charge of $2.4 million.
The Lions need to beef up their defense in 2025 in order to gear up for a Super Bowl run. Cutting Anzalone would be the definition of counter-productive for Detroit.
