Alex Anzalone

Alex Anzalone was absent from the Lions’ offseason workouts this week.

While Anzalone hasn’t explicitly said he wants a new contract, it doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots here. The Lions co-captain who turns 31 in September is a notable absence from optional offseason workouts this week after making multiple references to his value to the Lions on social media. Those references include a graph of the Lions’ defensive decline in DVOA in the seven games Anzalone missed last year as well as a note about the linebacker market increasing after Nick Bolton signed a three-year, $45 million deal with the Chiefs. Detroit hasn’t been bashful about handing out extensions in recent years and Anzalone, who’s entering the last year of a three-year, $18 million contract, believes he is next in line.