Pride of Detroit
Malcolm Rodriguez will miss the start of the 2025 season, but when he returns, the Lions linebacker faces the most important football of his NFL career.
As the Detroit Lions proved last year, depth can sometimes be as important as your top-end talent. You never know when or where the injury bug is going to hit, but when it does, you'd better be prepared.
Last year, it was the linebacker position (among others) for the Lions, and that’s where they had one of their best depth players waiting: Malcolm Rodriguez. Unfortunately, his season was cut short, making 2025 an extremely important year for his football future.
Previous previews: RB Sione Vaki, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Jameson Williams, TE Sam LaPorta, OT Giovanni Manu, G Graham Glasgow, EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, DT Brodric Martin, DL Pat O’Connor, LB Grant Stuard, CB Ennis Rakestraw, K Jake Bates
With Derrick Barnes, Jack Campbell, and Alex Anzalone firmly ahead of him on the depth chart, Rodriguez was expected to be the primary backup at both off-ball linebacker positions.
Despite being a former starter for the Lions—and showing he can hang with an expanded defensive role—Rodriguez displayed a very positive attitude that impressed then-linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard.
“A guy like Malcolm and you lose sight of a guy like this when you’re sitting up here talking about Jack Campbell, Jack Campbell, well those guys are his biggest fan and he’s their biggest fan,” Sheppard said. “It’s times where I’m pulling guys off the field, and I’m like, ‘I gotta get him three reps.’ [Rodriguez] is like, ‘It’s all good, coach, I want him to play.’ And you rarely find that in this sport, where guys are competing for monetary prizes and things like that. But we’re fortunate to have that.”
Additionally, coming off a season in which he played 307 special teams snaps, Rodriguez figured to be a huge part of Detroit’s special teams unit.
10 games (6 starts) — 318 defensive snaps
Stats: 43 tackles, 2 TFLs, 2.0 sacks, 1 pass defended, 1 fumble recovery
PFF defensive grade: 74.4 (16th out of 90 qualifying LBs —minimum 251 snaps)
PFF pass rush grade: 54.9 (t-70th out of 90)
PFF run defense grade: 87.1 (7th out of 90)
PFF tackling grade: 76.7 (13th out of 90)
Special teams grade (140 snaps): 62.6
As you may remember, the Lions suffered injuries early and often in 2024. Derrick Barnes was headed for a huge role, but an injury ended his season in Week 3.
Immediately, the Lions had to rely on Rodriguez to jump in and fill a critical defensive role (he had already had a rotational role of about 15-20 snaps a game). Unfortunately, Rodriguez suffered an ankle injury of his own in Week 8, causing him to essentially miss three games. But when he came back, he was needed more than ever.
Detroit’s linebacking corps took its biggest hit when Alex Anzalone broke his...
