Alex Anzalone is moving toward a return, and Dan Campbell gave a funny answer for what he has to do in order to play on Sunday night.
On Wednesday, linebacker Alex Anzalone was listed as limited on the Detroit Lions’ first practice report for Week 18. With that, his 21-day window to come off IR is open and he could play this week for the first time since suffering a broken forearm in Week 11 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
When he spoke to reporters on Wednesday, with the day’s practice only being a walkthrough, head coach Dan Campbell made it clear that Thursday’s practice would be an important step for Anzalone to play on Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings.
“He’ll be out there running around today, so we’ll see how he does,” Campbell said. “It’s really going to be how he—tomorrow is going to be a really big day for us, to see where he’s at.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday that Anzalone has a “realistic chance” to play on Sunday night, contradicting NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport report from earlier in the day declaring Anzalone would be out against the Vikings.
Campbell made his weekly appearance on 97.1 The Ticket’s “Costa and Jansen with Heather” Thursday morning. When asked what hurdles Anzalone has to clear to be able to play Sunday night, Campbell chose humor.
“He’s got to be able to do a handstand,” Campbell said. “He’s got to be able to do a handstand press-up. And then really a version of a jumping jack on his hands. And if he can do that, we’re gonna play that guy.”
Having Anzalone available for the regular season finale would be nice, given how the Lions’ defense has dropped off in his absence. But this is also somewhat on the early end of an original 6-8 week recovery timetable at the time of his injury, and having him at full strength in the playoffs is more important. Having Anzalone as healthy as possible in the playoffs is another mark for how important it is for the Lions to win Sunday night and earn a first-round bye.
