Comments on: Cliff Avril says he’ll “probably” skip start of training camp

By: chi01town

chi01town — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 18:45:38 +0000

The Loins… Um not surprised Avril dont wanna be there. I dont blame him. Avril get out of Detroit if you can

By: mwindle1973

mwindle1973 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:47:14 +0000

rodgersrodgersheisking says: Jul 19, 2012 2:06 PM

Problem with this is that it sort of implies he may not play as hard during the season as a ‘business decision’ and impact his payout he so dearly wants.

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Exactly….which also implies that he might have a down production in a contract year. When will these guys learn. The team is just doing what is best for them. If not showing up for camp was best for him then I’d say do it. But it’s not. It puts him behind and some might say more vulnerable to injury because he will be behind the rest of the team in conditioning when he finally does report. It’s a big sign of immaturity. He has no control over the franchise tag. He’s going to make a top 5 salary this year. He should just focus on preparing for this season like he has no other. And try to have a career year. Chances are they aren’t going to franchise him again.

By: rodgersrodgersheisking

rodgersrodgersheisking — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:06:25 +0000

Problem with this is that it sort of implies he may not play as hard during the season as a ‘business decision’ and impact his payout he so dearly wants.

By: insanelomein2

insanelomein2 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 17:20:37 +0000

I’d take Avril over Jason Babin.

At least he’s a speed rusher who can actually be effective on something other than passing downs.

By: hyzers

hyzers — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:48:33 +0000

7th rounder Willie Young had the most impressive sack all of last year between the two.

Facing 9th overall pick Tyron Smith, Willie Young gave him the Reggie White inside power arm and sent Tyron Smith flying flat on his back on the way to sacking Romo.

All of Avril’s sacks came on speed rushes.

By: granadafan

granadafan — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:38:29 +0000

Players want this magical long term security (5-6 years) yet start whining, Revis, MJD, Briggs, Osi, about being underpaid when the market has passed their big contract. They can’t have it both ways.

By: joshhatesthesteelers

joshhatesthesteelers — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:31:24 +0000

Damn, 10.6 mill for one year, that’s tough bro

By: tigers182

tigers182 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:37:28 +0000

I don’t understand why he would hold out. He’s not allowed to negotiate a contract until the end of the year anyways, how does this help? Your more likely to get injured by playing out of shape than by practicing. He’s not worth what he was asking for, he’s not even worth what they were offering. Dude just sounds like a giant baby who didn’t get his way.

By: mjkelly77

mjkelly77 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:29:19 +0000

“You know, you don’t want to get hurt.”
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I can understand that. But Avril also said that the negotiations were so close but “they” didn’t get it done. Well, Cliff, “you” didn’t get it done. So now “you” have no long-term security. The Lions’ offer of $30 million for 3 years with $20 million of it guaranteed was more than fair. And if you turn out to be the stud that you think you are, the next contract would have been even bigger.
So now you’re ready to depart from your normal training regimen. And you’ll probably play more tentatively, worrying about injury. And all of it means is that you may not play as well, negatively affecting your future marketability. Or it could result in the very thing you’re trying to avoid, injury.
I used to say that when you’re at the edge of the cliff, it’s good to have Cliff on the edge. Now I just think that Cliff is at the edge of the cliff.

By: bubba9er

bubba9er — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:00:08 +0000

I think it is amusing when people like Avril for the Lions or the 49ers’ Dashon Goldson have good years, and then start holdong out. I don’t think either one of them are worth the money they want, but they don’t get the fact that neither of them are that much better than the rest of their team mates to demand it. They are going to hurt themselves eventually with this type of behavior. Just play. You will get what you deserve.

By: klunge

klunge — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 14:31:39 +0000

When he sits down with his agent, it should be to tell him he’s fired. Should have signed that contract, and should sign the franchise tender. What does he think he’s going to prove now that the deadline has passed and he can’t get a contract until next year?

$30M/$20M guaranteed over 3 yrs is wealthy, Cliff. If you played up to it you’d get another one, look at Peppers as the example. The guy was already 30yrs old when Chicago gave him a 6yr/$91M contract. Could have played out your 3yr deal, been rich, then struck an even bigger one if you deserved it. Poor decision.

By: Patriot42

Patriot42 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 14:19:43 +0000

He really believes there isn’t someone out there that is eager to replace him? All of these guys have a large ego but there are certainly others that would love to play.

By: tremoluxman

tremoluxman — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 14:11:34 +0000

Let’s see, he’s got a $10.6 million tender to play the upcoming season and he’s worried about long-term security. Even if he lived off ‘just’ $250,000 a year, he’d be set for the next 42+ years. Some worry.

By: m2karateman

m2karateman — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:26:51 +0000

He had $20M guarnateed on the table, for just a three year deal. He wants to avoid injury? Retire. Otherwise you are going to be paid a bunch of money, you better get yourself ready to perform.
Funny…he has been willing to go through training camps all these past seasons playing on his rookie, third round pick contract, and didn’t fear injury then. But now he’s worried?!
His agent is an idiot, and Cliff would do well to avoid any discussions with him.

By: sfm073

sfm073 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:20:23 +0000

Once he signs that tender he’s guaranteed that $10 million right?

By: doowix

doowix — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:04:28 +0000

If some of the other DEs on the roster are looking good in camp, the Lions could just pull the tag and let Avril go find work elsewhere. I’m sure Mayhew could find some better ways to spend that $10.6 million.

By: aintthenazz

aintthenazz — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:00:33 +0000

He needs to have a strong season to get the big money, long term deal.

By: nflofficeadmin

nflofficeadmin — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 12:56:42 +0000

Classy interview by Avril yesterday on espn. It is a business, which means it’s about the bottom line (implies it’s not about trophies) – so you can’t blame Cliff if he makes a business decision and decides to stay away as long as he can without impacting his wallet.

It’s definitely about trophies for the fans, but you see how that is definitely not the case for everyone in a given football organization.

By: blackheld

blackheld — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 12:51:01 +0000

Yup…no job security, can’t take a chance on getting hurt. The Lions should understand this, and let Cliff sit on the bench this year, to make sure he doesn’t suffer a career-ending injury.

Let Willie Young start, and Lawrence Jackson play the rotation along with that rookie they drafted late because he was a godly pass rusher.

I suspect that 3 years/$30 million will start looking really good about November.

It’s a business, you know…and if Cliff is gonna leave next year, you really need to give his replacements the playing time.

By: frankie3333

frankie3333 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 12:40:46 +0000

hey Cliff, if you want to avoid injury, go to training camp to prepare your body for an NFL season.

By: houseofbacon

houseofbacon — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 12:37:44 +0000

I would “probably” be happy to use some cap space to put him across from Adrian Clayborne down here in Tampa.