Getty ImagesThe quiet has ended for Cliff Avril.
According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network, the Lions pass-rusher has agreed to a new deal with the Seahawks. He’s en route to the Pacific Northwest, and will sign his deal when he arrives.
The addition is huge for the Seahawks, whose defense changed when defensive end Chris Clemons blew out his knee in the playoff win over the Redskins.
Adding Avril gives them a solid pass-rush presence, the same kind of boost they gave their offense with the trade for Percy Harvin.
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cudos, the Seahawks are creating a great team
Eagles West
The NFC West is going to be a blood bath. He’s a good fit for them too. No hate coming from this 9er fan, but I’d appreciate it if they slowed down a little up there!
Watching the Niners and Seahawks go at it twice a year will be epic.
Your move, Niners.
I think he would also benefit from the Seahawks DL like he did with the Lions.
Petey and the Hawks aren’t messing around. That is going to be a fun team to watch this year.
I like this pick up. Seattle will take another couple D linemen and this d-fense will be top 3 guaranteed
where are they getting the cap room? did they release rice? either way, this team is looking scary.
Anthony Davis is licking his chops. He punked him the past 2 years playing against the Lions. Looking forward to watching Bam Davis punk him 2x a year now!
Welcome to Seattle.. Go Hawks!!
Reminds me of the eagles superbowl team in 04 when they signed T.O. and the freak. I have a new favorite for the superbowl.
looks like we’re all in for 2013 season . . .
question to lions fans: how good is Avril? how good will he be w/out Suh on his line?
Another young piece for a 5 year run at the trophy.
Was he good in Detroit? I don’t recall him being a difference maker.
Ohhhhhh no!!!!! Your all in sooo much trouble!!!!
GO HAWKS!!!
I think the nfc should come down to a game of rock paper scissors between Carroll and harbaugh. who else can compete now?
Great signing for the Seahawks!
Now we just need to keep him (and all of our players) away from that garbage dump of a playing surface they call “FedEx Field”.
The 49ers-Seahawks arms race continues. As a fan of another NFC team, screw both of you, the rest of us wanna compete too.
Now they have two situational DEs who can’t play the run.
Well that happened fast.
That pass rush will be nasty when Clemons comes back if they can find a way for them all to be on the field at the same time.
This is good. First the WR pick up and now DE. Seahawks fill two of three areas needed to shore up and make a splash. Now OL help and let the season get underway.
Congrats to Hawks on great FA.
Go Hawks!
The NFC West will be real entertaining next season when SF and the Hawks unleash their new weapons on each other, probably three times.
Percy Harvin loves this deal because he really likes Avril. Or was that Advil?
OVERRATED!
Love it!
Very happy to read this, he’s a high motor guy. I wonder if this is the end of the line for Clem?
WOW, Seahawks have to be the SB favorite
Good luck Cliff you will be miss by THE GREAT DETROIT LIONS the way you let us down in the run game other than that you was great see you around.
San Francisco you’re now on the clock…
Jason Jones will out sack Avril this year. I honestly don’t see a big difference in their talent levels.
Lions and seahawks basically swap DE. Lions will get the better end unless the Seahawks DT occupies 2 blockers on a regular basis
SEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
We needed a DE but I just hope the deal isn’t too expensive or else we’ll have problems in the future. Now we just need a solid RT in the draft.
Packer were last years favorite for SB, guess what ??
The Seahawks and the 49′ers teams are poised to be one of the best rivalries in the NFL for years to come. The NFC West is no longer the laughing stock of the NFL.
can’t wait til snyder unloads his bank roll next offseason
#EXPECTATIONS
good signing by the hawks,but i heard denver was releasing dumervil and what about abraham? he still has a few good yrs left?!!
Well, as it turns out, picking up Pete Carroll was beyond brilliant
Seahawks and thier fans better hope thier good and win big cuz, that’s an awfull lot of payroll what happens next year if they dont win it all!! More overpriced FA
Seahawks making some good moves. Should try to enhance a decent linebacker group then they would be SB favorites
As a 49er fan, these Seahawks are looking ridiculously dangerous on paper!! It’s a bit of a concern.
the new redskins
Seattle is gonna be goooooddddd
So i guess we should expect the next 9er signing in roughly an hour… 9ers-Hawks matchups this year are gonna be like NFC Championship games! I think i smell a boatload of primetime games coming up for the NFC West this upcoming season
I’m not gonna hate on this move. I just don’t understand it. The team is designed to be built through the draft yet they have made possibly two very expensive free agent aquisitions. Both with substantial question marks. If it all works out its genius. If it doesnt it could be crippling
Wow…49ers are not even the best team in their division. Scary.
ESPN says 2 year deal. So much for breaking the bank to get him.
Bad deal Seattle,mediocre player,barely adequate.
Wow
A watched pot…
As a Detroit fan i wish nothing but the best to Cliff. But hawk fans need to wait to get excited. Avril was made to look alot better then what he is playing next to Suh and Fairly with the double and triple teams those men got, it really helped Avril. Everyone in Detroit knew this and that’s why we were smart not to overpay for him. He will be great if the Seahawks can get the same situation going, if not, I’m sorry but he will be just another average pass rusher. we already know he is weak against the rush. He is one of those guys that has too be in the right situation for him too be great if not, after a few games you will be screaming bust
As a 9ers fan, I have to admit I really like what Seahawks have done. This is a great signing for them. Really looking forward to the 3 games these two powerhouses are gonna play next year. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if the hawks take the west and the Lombardi trophy next year!
Two years, fifteen million.
I love John Schneider.
How can they afford to pay
Harvin 12 mill
Rice 8 mill
Avril 10 mill
Lynch ???
and so on.. .
Lions fan here. Avril = overrated. He didn’t do anything until Suh arrived. Pair him with a high quality line, he will do ok. It shocked me that he was rated at #2. I ain’t crying that we lost him.
It’s Cliff Avril, for crying out loud…not Reggie White. Most of us Lions fans are NOT sad to see him go.
It will be interesting to see what the numbers on this deal are. Cliff Avril isnt a bad player, but as someone who watched him play the last 3 years, I was always under-impressed. He will probably give Seattle 8-10 sacks a year for the next few years but unless I am wrong, it will be the least impressive 8-10 sack you will ever see.
Anyway, good luck to Cliff. He finally got his payday.
I haven’t seen a team have an off season like this since the Dream Team in Philly.
Hell. Just book it seahawks vs 49ers in the NFC Championship #GOHAWKS!!
People wondering where the Hawks are getting all this cap space from need to remember that Seattle’s QB probably have a less than $10m cap hit
Highest cap hit before FA signings was for the TE Zach Miller and I’m not joking lol
When you have young players under this new collective bargaining agreement, where you pay your draft picks next to nothing you have money to spend. Both of these contracts they can get rid of in two years. Thats when they have to start paying sherman, wilson, thomas among others. To many teams worry about the future instead of taking advantage of now. Nice move for the Seahawks.
Wow. We already have a really good D-line. We don’t blitz often and get to the QB with 4 and there is depth and talent. Bryant on first downs. Irvin/Avril/ and a healed Clem rotating is the depth we needed. Bruce will need to put on a few pounds because he was getting moved on the run a little too much. Excellent pass rushing pick up with our top pass rusher blowing his knee. These two pick ups along were the moves every Seahawk fan wanted. Pass rusher and play making WR. RT in the draft and I am dreaming. Breno has played much better but he is limited in his pass blocking.
I think it depends on who plays DL for the seahawks (I will admit my ignorance instead of making assumptions) if they have great dline play this is a good move by the seahakawks however if they have average dline play this is a bad move. Cliff is just not a game changing player he is very replacable and only shines when dominate pieces are around him. Notice how when Suh production was going down how Cliff impacts disappeared? Good luck to Cliff though he may rubbed some lions fans the wrong way but he was a good guy chasing them dollar figures would make us all look like a bad person but I wish him the best.
ESPN just put out the details. Cliff should have taken the 3 years $30mill the lions offered last year. He didn’t get anywhere near that from Seattle.
Seattle has mdae some really nice move.
How much money do they have left under the cap at this point?
Cliff is terrible at playing the run. So the ‘hawks better have someone else to handle that dept. I wonder if Cliff can handle the ’49ers pistol offense at all because of that.
I like the ‘hawks and especially Russell is somethin’ special when he creates. And I love the way the ‘hawks seem to have the ’49ers number right now.
Lions fan
Dam you seattle. what a pick up. niners vs seahawks in nfc championship.
Seahawks front office is just smarter than anyone else’s they are able to manipulate the numbers and fit the pieces together better than anyone else.
Bc they draft so well they built a dominant talented and youthful roster ON THE CHEAP and have money to blow, but blow it wisely.
2 yr 15 million for the #2 DE FA?
Having the best secondary and 2 up and coming Lbs will help Avril shine. Longer coverage ability and loud crowd to get an better jump. New D coordinator that likes to pressure = Perfect place for a athletic DE with his abilities.
Rich get Richer!
To the Lions fans who don’t know about our d-line. I know Avril will need help from the insides. But we have Mebane inside who is probably one of the best DT in football versus the run. Branch I don’t know if they are going to keep him is excellent as well. We leave teams 3rd and long as well as any team in football. Sad part is last year Bradley subbed out all DT’s and used Jason Jones inside who is a solid DE. Red Bryant our 320 lb DE plays the run punt/kick like a monster. As as his injury heals Seattle will be stout versus run. We actually have two excellent linebackers NFC West fans all know I am sure. Rest of the league will find out next year.
Lol at all the ignorant people on here booking the 9ers and hawks NFC championship game both are the new (Philly) dream team of 2013, neither team is better then any team in the NFC as of right now, it’s the NFL people anything can happen on any given Sunday so I wouldn’t be proclaiming anything just yet or you’ll be the laughing stock of the NFL…
SHI…I mean SHOOT! 49er fan here and this SF-SEA thing to officially start the 2013 NFL season is GREAT!
Now on the clock: The San Francisco 49ers
John Schneider and Father Flanagan are making it awfully hard not to gloat about my Seahawks these days. SWOOP!! Huge trade out of nowhere for one of the premiere WR’s in the NFL … SWOOP!! Snatch #1 rated DE (#2 of all positions) available in FA. Who is next to feel the clutch of our talons? BWAA-HA-HA-HAAAA!!
LOL……over-rated is an understatement.
I bet I could get a bunch of sacks playing next to Suh and Fairly.
Nothing against hawks fans, you are having a great FA and i see you in the playoffs for sure, but not against the 4whiners. There are alot of good teams in the nfc plus Detroit is also having a amazing FA and got rid of the trouble makers and putting together a great team plus a #5 pick to add another playmaker. I’m not saying we are winning the superbowl yet but we are doing all the right things to get there. The 2 teams really making splashes are the Seahawks and Lions.
This is a great signing for two reasons:
They are paying Avril less than what he was offered by Detroit on a long term deal. It’s a two year deal that they could get out of after the first year or extend him should he have a big season.
Most importantly, he fits the profile for Seattle’s defense. Tall, athletic, tough, hard worker with speed.
Avril turned down $10M per year offer in Detroit last year. He wanted to be paid like the top Defensive End in free agency, but his production wasnt even close to that level. That is why Detroit did not franchise him again. I hope the Seahawks have a lot of cap room (and a lot of patience).
In a related move, 49ers have signed Michael Strahan.
Looking good Hawks. Shore up the OL and get back ups for the LBs and DL for the battles against SF.
I’d buy a ticket. Get the popcorn ready.
To all the niners fan here much respect to all of you, it’s gonna be a bloodbath to the last snap when we play you guys.go hawkssss
Avril – (Suh + Fairley) = Bust