Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell offered his thoughts on the ongoing negotiations with Alex Anzalone.
On Wednesday, Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone spoke to the media and expressed clear frustration with his contract situation. The veteran defender is entering the final year of a three-year deal signed in 2023, and said outright he believe he’s currently underpaid at his $6 million salary for 2025.
“It’s just kind of obvious, I think,” Anzalone said about being underpaid. “Production, play, the market.”
As he remains sidelined at Detroit Lions camp with a hamstring injury, it’s clear he’s also frustrated with where negotiations currently lie with the team.
“I’m disappointed, I’ll just say that. I’m disappointed,” Anzalone said.
On Friday, coach Dan Campbell offered his thoughts on the situation. And while he wasn’t going to get into specifics, he did offer a little more optimism on the situation, noting that they still value him as a player, and the line of communication remains open.
“You guys know how I feel about Alex, how we feel about Alex. He’s one of our dudes. we’ve leaned on him. He’s a productive player,” Campbell said. “We’re good, still talking. There’s no animosity here. There’s nothing like that. So, I’m not going to go into anything else outside of that. But we’re going to be good. We’re going to be good, and, yes, we’re going to need him.”
Last year, Anzalone finished fourth on the team in tackles, second in tackles for loss, and was often the emotional leader of the team. However, there does seem to be a bit of transition happening at the linebacker position. Third-year defender Jack Campbell has taken over the green dot at MIKE linebacker, and the Lions have even touted the defense as “Campbell’s defense” now.
“I mean this is his defense. I mean, he’s taken ownership, he stepped in there and he kinda sets the tone for everybody,” Dan Campbell said on SiriusXM earlier this week.
For now, things remain at a stalemate. Anzalone continues to sit at practice, while there has been no reported movement in his contract negotiations. It’s unclear when (or if) Anzalone will return to practice, but he did note that he does not expect to sit out the regular season.