Alex Anzalone To Miss Several Weeks with Forearm Injury

Lions' Alex Anzalone is set to miss multiple weeks with forearm ailment.

Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) walks off the field due to an injury during the first half against Jacksonville Jaguars at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Sunday, the Detroit Lions suffered their second significant injury of the season on defense.

Veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone went down with a left forearm injury near the end of the first half of Detroit's Week 11 contest with Jacksonville. It occurred with 2:32 to play in the second quarter, when he collided with defensive back Brian Branch as Branch tackled Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr.

And, after the game, Detroit head man Dan Campbell confirmed that it was likely a fractured forearm for Anzalone. 

“Yeah, look, he’s probably gonna be down for a while. It doesn’t look good," Campbell told 97.1 The Ticket's T.J. Lang. "I think it looks like he broke that bone down there in the forearm. So, we’re gonna lose him for a bit. But, he’ll bounce back, man. He does. If anything, that’ll put he and Hutch together, and they can get their ass back together. So, that’s hard.”

During his postgame press conference, Campbell added that he expects Anzalone to be out "six-eight weeks" with the injury.

Prior to the ailment, Anzalone had notched his seventh tackle for loss of the season. It gave him the distinction of being the first Lions linebacker to record seven-or-more tackles for loss in three consecutive seasons since DeAndre Levy achieved the feat from 2012-14. 

.@Lions LB @AlexAnzalone34 is Detroit's first LB to post 7+ TFLs in three-straight seasons since LB DeAndre Levy from 2012-14.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/Zu4j71nzkf

— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) November 17, 2024

If Anzalone is to miss a significant period of time, it will be a crucial blow to Detroit's linebacker corps. Expect to see an increased number of snaps for the likes of Malcolm Rodriguez and Trevor Nowaske in Anzalone's absence. Rodriguez, a sixth-round pick of the Lions in 2022, logged four total tackles Sunday against the Jaguars.

In nine games this season, Anzalone has compiled 56 total tackles, the third-highest number of tackles on the Lions. Fellow linebacker Jack Campbell and Branch are presently No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in tackles, with 78 and 57 tackles, respectively.