The Lions dealt with widespread injury trouble at linebacker last season, but the team has seen key principals reemerge. Both Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes are back at work, though Malcolm Rodriguez is not expected to join them for a while.
With their LB depth tested last year, the Lions may be ready to act early in 2025. They conducted a free agency visit with Kyzir White
, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports
. A former Chargers, Eagles and Cardinals linebacker, White has resided in free agency since his two-year Arizona deal expired in March.
[RELATED: Anzalone Expresses Contract Frustration]
A 73-game starter, White was attached to a two-year Arizona deal worth $10MM. Deemed a low priority along with fellow Eagles Super Bowl LVII linebacker starter T.J. Edwards , White joined the Chicago-bound defender in departing Philly during the 2023 offseason. He reunited with ex-Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon and made 28 starts over the past two years. That included 17 in 2024, as the Cardinals quietly improved from 31st to 15th in scoring defense.
Pro Football Focus did not think much of White’s Arizona work, ranking him as a bottom-10 linebacker (among regulars) in 2024 and placing him 64th at the position in 2023. A converted safety, White began his career with the Chargers. A 144-tackle contract year (2021) drew Eagles attention, though he only commanded a one-year, $3MM deal. He still logged a 76% snap rate for a strong Eagles defense that season. He hit 94% and 95% rates, respectively, with the Cardinals.
White, though, was statistically productive in Arizona. He produced back-to-back nine-TFL seasons as a Cardinal and combined for 4.5 sacks in that span. This included a 137-tackle, 2.5-sack 2024. The former fourth-round pick also tallied an interception in both seasons. The Cardinals added Akeem Davis-Gaither in free agency as a replacement (also on a two-year, $10MM deal), before using a fourth-round pick on Cody Simon .
Anzalone missed seven games with a broken arm last year, while a Week 3 knee injury shut down Barnes for the season. Detroit then lost Rodriguez to a late-season ACL tear. He began training camp on the team’s active/PUP list and is expected to miss regular-season time . The Lions are still fairly well situated here, thanks to the presence of 2023 first-round pick Jack Campbell , who played all 17 games last season. White, 29, may want to hold out for an injury to shake up a team’s starting crew. An early move, though, would give the seven-year vet a better chance of picking up a team’s scheme ahead of Week 1.