Ever since the Detroit Lions placed the franchise tag on defensive end Cliff Avril, there hasn't been much talk about the status of the two sides' negotiations on a long-term deal. With Avril essentially guaranteed to be back with the Lions next season, the focus of fans has turned to free agents like Stephen Tulloch.
MLive's Anwar Richardson did provide an update on Avril on Sunday, and it doesn't exactly sound very promising.
Lewand and Mayhew wanted to give defensive end Cliff Avril a long-term deal, but settled for the franchise tag instead. Both sides remain far apart in negotiations, and as of now, the odds of locking up Avril long-term this offseason are very slim.
There are a few big reasons why it would be nice for the Lions and Avril to get something of the long-term variety done. For starters, a long-term deal would drop his cap number, which is currently around $10 million for 2012. Secondly, a long-term deal would ensure that Avril will be a Lion for years to come. Finally, getting a long-term deal done now would ensure that we don't have to go through this same thing with the franchise tag next offseason.
Hopefully the Lions and Avril can get something done at some point, but it doesn't sound like anything will happen in the immediate future.