Monday is the last day teams can apply the franchise tag to players this offseason. What this means for the Detroit Lions is that the time to make a decision about Cliff Avril's future is nearing. Unless they can get a long-term deal done in the next 24 hours, it will be necessary to apply the franchise tag or risk losing him in free agency. While the Lions would still have eight days before free agency opens to work on something with Avril, at that point he would probably rather just test the open market.
So far, several players around the league have received the franchise tag. Here's the full list:
- QB Drew Brees (Saints)
- RB Ray Rice (Ravens)
- RB Matt Forte (Bears)
- WR DeSean Jackson (Eagles)
- TE Fred Davis (Redskins)
- DE Calais Campbell (Cardinals)
- CB Brent Grimes (Falcons)
- S Dashon Goldson (49ers)
- S Tyvon Branch (Raiders)
- K Mike Nugent (Bengals)
- K Phil Dawson (Browns)
By this time tomorrow, we should know if Avril will be added to the list.