The Lions have made it known that their top priority for the offseason is to lockup DE Cliff Avril but he apparently isn’t willing to commit to the idea. Avril does mention that he would like to return to Detroit but intends to leverage his situation to maximize the value of his next contract.
“I wouldn’t say it’s out of my control, but it’s up to them if they want me here,” said Avril a few weeks ago, per Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News. “Can it get messy? I think so. I definitely want to be here, but I’m not gonna get low-balled either. I got a family and a lot of people that depend on me. There’s no point in getting this opportunity and not being able to take advantage of it.”
Avril’s racked up 30 sacks in the past four seasons so it’s not as if the Lions haven’t had an opportunity to address his contract before he was set to hit the open market. Avril continues to mention that he would like to return but seems practical about the process.
“I try not to think about it, honestly,” Avril said, per the Detroit Free Press. “I feel like everything will play itself out. I would love to be a Lion, I’d love to be in Detroit. I’ve been here four years, I see how good the team can be, and I’d like to be a part of it. But it’s also a business. Like I said, I think it will play itself out and hopefully I’m here.”
Some had suggested that Avril could have interest in returning to Jacksonville since it’s his home town but that too has been shot by Avril unless they’re willing to agree to his contract demands.
Detroit has already invested heavily in their defensive line but Avril could net another ridiculous deal which would limit the team’s ability to fill of their roster holes during the offseason. Detroit’s best option could be to use their franchise tag on him which will cost them $10.6 million for next season.
If Avril does become available you can expect to see plenty of interest from team’s like the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Seattle Seahawks.
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This is the problem with such a low salary cap while some of the old rookie deals are still out there…teams are hamstrung by them and other good talent gets away..If he hits free agency I could see just about every team other than the Giants in on him. It sounds like he knows this too…Its pay day for Avril either way..
Great point about the old rookie contract like Stafford, Bradford and Ryan. The Lions are probably the team that’s most effected by them considering that they drafted three top-five picks during that span: Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Ndamukong Suh. On top of that Johnson’s contract is up at the end of the 2012 season and he’s coming off of an unbelievable season so they’ll have to re-sign him to an even bigger deal. Tough situation for the Lions.