Cliff Avril has made it clear that he does not want the Detroit Lions to use the franchise tag on him. Avril is very unhappy that the Lions have not discussed signing him to a contract extension. Avril has expressed dissatisfaction if the Lions use the franchise tag to sign him through the 2012 season.
Avril had a tremendous season in 2011 with 11 sacks. He helped give the Lions one of the best defensive front-lines in the entire NFL. Avril believes the Lions are disrespecting him by hinting that they only intend to give him a one year deal. With the franchise tag that will pay him about $10.6 million in 2012. He wants security and thinks his play on the football field well warrants a long-term contract extension.
The Lions need to make their decision. Will they sign Avril to that long-term deal or maybe let him go into free agency? With the upcoming draft in April, the Lions can grab another defensive lineman to replace Avril. This might be the better option overall. It will save the Lions money that they can use to sign other players to help improve the team. Avril’s contract dispute is nastier by the week.
If the Lions sign Avril using the franchise tag, they may do more harm than good entering the 2012 season. Avril is threatening to hold out for a better contract should the Lions choose to put the franchise tag on him for the 2012 season. The Lions cannot afford to have Avril hold out. When a player holds out for contract reasons, his production on the field can suffer. Remember when Darrelle Revis and Chris Johnson held out for long-term contract extensions? Both did not have their usual productive seasons upon returning to the field.
For the team’s sake, the Lions should already be thinking about letting Avril go via free agency. Yes, Avril is a leader and well respected by his Lions teammates. But he is unhappy; and that could lead to problems with the team. The Lions can’t afford problems if the intend to be Super Bowl contenders.
Salary cap limitations are affecting the Lions. Who do they decide to keep or let go? Listening to their star player Avril make threats is not something they need to do deal with right now. The Lions front office needs to be thinking about which players to draft to improve the Lions in 2012. Avril’s contract distractions only hurts this progress.
The Detroit Lions should have signed Cliff Avril to a contract extension directly after the 2011 season was over. Regretfully, this did not happen. The Lions need to move on and think about how they can sign their other key free agents; and focus on bringing in other talent players, either through the draft, or via free agency.
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