Alex Anzalone: 'Saya ingin pensiun dengan singa tetapi kecewa' dengan pembicaraan kontrak
Alex Anzalone is part of the DNA of the Detroit Lions. He just wants to be paid like that.
“I want to retire a Lion. I want that opportunity. That’s how I feel. I’m disappointed. Let’s just say that,” Anzalone said on Tuesday morning when asked about his contract talks with the franchise, according to MLive.com. “Disappointed.”
Anzalone, who’s entering the final season of a three-year, $18.3 million deal and is currently sidelined due to a hamstring injury, said that he made it clear “a while ago” to general manager Brad Holmes and Co. that he wanted a new contract in a situation the linebacker labels as “weird.”
The 30-year-old Anzalone – who turns 31 in September – has spent the past four seasons with the Lions (2021-24), most notably averaging 127 combined tackles per season from 2022-23. Last season, Anzalone missed six games due to a broken forearm and one game due to a concussion.
In the 11 regular-season games that he appeared in, Anzalone totaled 63 combined tackles, five passes defended and one sack; he then totaled 13 combined tackles in Detroit’s divisional round loss to the Washington Commanders. Anzalone ranked 17th among linebackers with a 73.7 coverage grade, 70th with a 67.8 overall grade, 83rd with a 59.7 pass-rush grade and 148th with a 56.3 run-defense grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I put so much into my time here and being a four-time captain and a teammate and the city, and just living here,” Anzalone said. “You can list all the reasons. It’s just important to me. I love this place. I want that opportunity. I feel like I’ve done that a lot [play through injuries] selama empat tahun saya di sini. Saya hanya dalam situasi di mana itu, Anda ingin dihargai untuk itu. Atau setidaknya dalam beberapa hal, ya. “
Anzalone, yang terpilih di putaran ketiga NFL Draft 2017 oleh New Orleans Saints, adalah bagian dari pertahanan Lions yang berada di urutan kelima di NFL di lawan bergegas yard (98,4 per pertandingan) dan ketujuh dalam poin lawan (20,1 per pertandingan) musim lalu.
Detroit datang dari musim 15-2 tetapi memiliki koordinator defensif baru di mantan pelatih linebacker tim empat tahun Kelvin Sheppard, yang dipromosikan setelah mantan koordinator defensif Aaron Glenn pergi untuk menjadi pelatih kepala baru New York Jets.
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