Malcolm Rodriguez: ‘I Love Being Here, This Is Home’

During the NFL free agency period, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes has not simply brought back many of the team's own free agents, as veterans Alex Anzalone, Amik Robertaon, Kalif Raymond and Al-Quadin Muhammad have departed.

However, one player that Holmes was able to retain was linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. The talented linebacker has spent his entire career in Motown, after being selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

The 2022 PWFA All-Rookie linebacker revealed his reasons for staying during a media session with local reporters.

“The culture here, you know, the guys, obviously Shep (Kelvin Sheppard) being the DC, going five years with him now, and obviously Dan (Campbell), just the organization and coaching staff, some of the guys, you just want to send it back again,” Rodriguez revealed.

Rodriguez went on to call Detroit home for his family, and even brought his young daughter to the podium with him.

“I love being here, this is home for my family and I. My daughter, she’s a little cranky since it’s her nap time,” Rodriguez said with a smile as he handed his daughter back to his wife. “It’s a blessing. I’m excited to be back and, you know, stay close to home here.”

Kelvin Sheppard has remained extremely confident in Rodriguez, calling him a starting linebacker. This is in spite of injuries and finding himself farther down the depth chart due to the setbacks. That faith in the former All-American has meant a lot to the emerging linebacker.

“It’s one of those things where, we started off in that room. He’s seen it from day one, it’s one of those things where, just to have that confidence in me as a player, (it) makes me want to play even harder for him,” Rodriguez said. “For my family, just go out there and prove him right.”

The Oklahoma State product also gave a health update on himself, after revealing that his knee felt different when returning to play late last season.

“I had to kind of warm the knee up, just a lot of stiffness,” Rodriguez said about his injury. “I felt that was unusual of me. Now, in the offseason, a couple of weeks after the season, giving it like a full break, getting back to normal after that, just kind of it’s just one of those things where you just work so hard, you don’t really take a break. The little break after the season, it helped. Getting back to training now, everything just feels smooth and back to normal… going into year five, it really takes a toll on your body. I love this sport, but it’s just one of those things. Going into a new season fully healthy, it feels good.”

He was asked for his own scouting report, as he is now entering his fifth NFL season. The 26-year-old is proud of his run defense, and thinks he will be adding quite a bit to the Lions’ defense this upcoming NFL season.

“Fully healthy, I feel I pride myself in the run defense, stopping the run game," said Rodriguez. "Pass defense, doing whatever coaches ask me to do, covering anybody. So, it’s one of those things where, fully healthy, it will be nice to see me out there flying around and doing my thing again."