Cliff Avril: Long-term deal with Lions 'nothing to stress out about'

Cliff Avril appeared on NFL Network Tuesday, and said that he doesn't understand why his deal is 'complicated' to put together and believes a long-term deal is 'nothing to stress out about.'

By Will Brinson

Jun 20, 2012 at 11:00 am ET • 1 min read

Avril's not happy about his contract status, but he's also 'not stressed' about it. (US Presswire)

Though we've seen several different franchised players pick up long-term deals this offseason (Titans safety Michael Griffin was the latest on Tuesday), we've also seen plenty of unhappy franchise-tagged players not get new deals. Among those is Lions defensive end Cliff Avril, who has yet to appear at Lions OTAs.

Avril appeared on NFL Network's "Total Access" Tuesday and said that he's "not stressed out" over working out a new deal, but he was surprised that Lions GM Martin Mayhew called his new deal "complicated" recently.

"It can't be any more complicated than the next," Avril said, per NFL.com's Dan Hanzus. "I take it with a grain of salt, in a sense. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen. It's nothing to stress out about, I know I'm not stressed out over it. I don't know what makes it more complicated though."

The complication could be that the two sides are a reported $2 million per year apart. Avril also wouldn't commit as to whether or not he would make an appearance at the Lions training camp, preferring to focus on a different deadline.

"I don't know. I really don't know," Avril said about appearing at training camp. "The deadline for me right now is July 16, that's the last chance we have to get a deal done, and I'm anticipating getting a deal done before then. We'll see."

July 16 is the deadline for players who receive the franchise tag to work out a long-term deal. Plenty of players who received the tag have gotten new deals but those still waiting are watching the calendar turn anxiously.

Given that Avril produced 11 sacks (most on the Lions), six forced fumbles, one interception and 38 tackles last season, the Lions might start getting anxious as well if they can't get Avril under contract for a longer period of time.

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