The Detroit Free Press reports that the Lions have yet to sit down with DE Cliff Avril to discuss a new contract.
Avril was last weeks NFC defensive player of the week and has put together a great season thus far. Five sacks and three forced fumbles
“I’ve known [Team President] Tom [Lewand] for 20 years. We’ve done a lot of deals, and when they’re ready to do something with Cliff, we’re willing to listen,” said Brian Mackler.
What’s amazing about the Lions is that Ndamukong Suh garners so much interest that you’d almost forget about guys like Avril unless you looking for him in particular. Kyle Vanden Bosch‘s name comes up from time to time but Avril is a legitimate force off of the end and should be in line for a huge contract following the season. The Lions have a lot of talent on the defensive end so there’s a chance that they could let him walk but he is great fit to their defensive scheme so I’d expect them to work on a deal at some point.
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I hope the Lions don’t sign Avril so the Packers can pick him up. This guy performs on a high level every time he goes out on the field and he’s someone you want in your locker room. Detroit is stupid to not sign him to an extension.
Cliff Avril has been an underrated talent for the last few years but it will be interesting to if the Lions will be willing to re-sign their talented defensive line.
As for Green Bay, defensive end is their biggest need at this point. The only issue with Avril is that he’s use to playing in a 4-3 defense and may prefer to stay in that scheme. The Packers 3-4 defense makes use of larger defensive lineman along side of versatile linebackers so Avril could be asked to shift to outside linebacker in this scenario.