Cliff Avril Says “A Few” Teams Have Contacted Him, Waiting To See What Doctors Have To Say

Former Seahawks DE Cliff Avril tells Sirius XM NFL Radio that he has been in contact with “a few” NFL teams since he was released by Seattle last week. However, Avril says it will come down to what his doctors have to say about the progress he’s made from a serious neck injury.

“But for me it’s all about just seeing what the doc says,” Avril said. “I’m not really too concerned about where I might end up or anything like that. I actually just told everybody that I’m going to be working at a radio station, KJR 950 in Seattle. We’ll see how it shakes out, though.”

“The recovery process has been great,” Avril added. “I’m feeling a lot better, I’m moving around, I’m getting better. But I still have some doctor’s visits that I have to go and see what he thinks. But for the most part, I feel great. We’ll see what the doc says, though.”

If doctors aren’t willing to give him the okay to resume his NFL career, Avril says he’s okay walking away from the game.

“I’m definitely ready (to move on if the doctor recommends as much),” Avril said. “I’ve had about eight months now to kind of wrap my brain around it. My wife and I, we’ve been talking about it. We talk about it pretty much every other week, just understanding, ‘Hey, if you’re not going to play anymore, what’s next? Start preparing yourself for that.’ And that’s kind of where I’m at right now. I’m OK if I’m not able to play ball. If the doctor tells me, ‘Hey, you should definitely reconsider not playing,’ I’m OK with that at this point of my career.”

Avril, 31, is a former third-round pick of the Lions back in 2008. He spent five years in Detroit before signing on with the Seahawks in 2013.

Avril was in the fourth year of his five-year, $35.5 million contract that included $16 million guaranteed and set to make base salaries of $4.5 million and $7 million over the next two years of the agreement when the Seahawks released him last week.

In 2017, Avril appeared in four games and recorded two tackles and one sack for the Seahawks.