The Detroit Lions have until March 5 to either strike a deal or use the franchise tag on defensive end Cliff Avril. Avril wants a long term deal and may have some leverage after coming off of an 11 sack campaign in 2011.
Avril who will be 26 in a few months, may holdout and miss some off-season workouts if the team does not meet his demand of offering a long term deal. This is a familiar situation for Avril as he wanted a long term deal last season, but ended up signing a one year restricted free agent tender with the Lions worth $2.6 million before the start of the 2011 season.
If the franchise tag is used on Avril it will come with a significant raise. The franchise tag is an average of the top five salaries at a particular position. In this case, that would be defensive end.
The projected number for defensive ends is expected to be around $10.5 million give or take. This is definitely no chump change, but Avril does have a case for a long term deal.
Ultimately, Cliff Avril is pro...
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