Alex Anzalone won’t make Lions team plane, officially ruled out against Saints

NEW ORLEANS — Alex Anzalone will not travel here with the Detroit Lions and has been officially ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Saints.

Anzalone was officially listed as doubtful for the matchup, but always seemed like a long shot due to a hand injury that kept him off the practice field all week. He suffered the injury on Thanksgiving against Green Bay, and his status for next week’s game against Chicago is unclear.

The loss is a big one. While the Lions have struggled on defense lately — allowing 31.0 points per game the last three weeks, second worst in the league — Anzalone has played especially well. He has a team-high 87 tackles, and already set new career highs in QB hits (nine) and sacks (three).

Without him, the Lions are expected to turn their playcalls over to rookie Jack Campbell. The first-round pick is off to an up-and-down start, but Detroit is confident he’s ready to become the quarterback of the defense.

Derrick Barnes is expected to start alongside him, while former starter Malcolm Rodriguez will offer support.

“I’m not going to sleight this like we didn’t lose anything,” linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard said. “But like I told the room, we should take a step up. That’s just the way I’m wired, the way I’m built, and to have Alex say, ‘Oh wait, I got to get back, those guys …’ and that’s when you create that environment where everyone is (raising each other up), versus everyone sitting back and saying, ‘I hope we get through this…’ No, no, no, no. We’re going to raise the pressure on Alex. You better hurry back, because these guys are about to ball.”

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