As the season continues, the Lions defense seems to be getting thinner and thinner amid injuries. The trend continued last week when linebacker Alex Anzalone broke his forearm against the Jaguars; he will be out 6-8 weeks.
The Lions now have to fill a hole at linebacker, and Dan Campbell calls upon Malcolm Rodriguez.
“Yeah, it’s very important. I mean, he really does become somewhat the next man up,” Campbell said.
Rodriguez, a third-year man out of Oklahoma State, has made a name for himself in Detroit, becoming a fan favorite. So far throughout the season, he has tallied 16 solo tackles and two sacks in seven games after missing time with an injury of his own.
Alongside Rodriquez, Campbell looks to another young linebacker, Jack Campbell, to take on a bigger role as well.
“I mean, he and Jack (Campbell) are going to take on the – Jack’s been playing with Alex in a heavy load, but it’s really Jack and Malcolm. I mean, those are the two that are – they’re going to take on the heaviest load of that whole room,” Campbell said.
It will be interesting to see how the two youngsters step up to the occasion and it is clear that Dan Campbell has high expectations for Rodriguez.
“He’ll be big for us and he’s going to be big the rest of the season, it doesn’t matter who we get back, we’re going to use him. He helps us there on defense and he helps us on special teams,” Campbell said.
