Seahawks Lock Up DE Cliff Avril To A Four-Year, $28.5M Extension

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Seattle Seahawks have signed DE Cliff Avril four-year contract extension worth $28.5 million.

• Rapoport adds that Avril will receive  $16 million guaranteed as part of this agreement.
• This agreement will keep him under team control through the 2018 season.

Rapoport mentions that one of the reasons why the team dealt WR Percy Harvin a few months ago was to free up additional cap space to address impending free agents such Avril and LB K.J. Wright, whom they also locked up to a long-term extension recently.

Previous reports had mentioned that Avril and Wright were among the team’s top offseason priorities, so I’m sure they are glad to have these negotiations out of the way as they now have a large portion of their defensive nucleus under contract for the foreseeable future.

The Seahawks wound up getting a pretty good deal when they signed Avril to a two-year, $13 million contract that included a $4.5 million signing bonus.

This season, Avril has appeared in 14 games and recorded 20 tackles, five sacks, a forced fumble and a recovery. Pro Football Focus had Avril listed as the No. 13 defensive end in a 4-3 system last season.