With Calvin Johnson signed, sealed and delivered through 2019 next up on the Lions’ offseason to-do list should be re-signing LB Stephen Tulloch and getting Cliff Avril locked up long-term.
Despite not wanting to go the route of franchising Avril, the option gives the Lions the opportunity to continue to negotiate with Avril on a long-term deal. And just in case something still can’t be worked out within the next few months, the Lions will have a somewhat reasonable $10.6 million dollar contract to work with.
However, the assumption is Avril will be locked up long-term sometime between now and early summer. So with that said, what could Avril’s new contract look like?
MLive.com’s Anwar Richardson expects Avril to sign the franchise tag eventually and speculates that the next deal he signs with the Lions will be somewhere between Mario Williams’ 6-year, $96 million deal and Robert Mathis’ four-year, $36 million deal. Likely something in the range of $66-$70 million.
But like last season Avril will once again be expected to perform in order to get that big contract. In 2011, Avril had 11 sacks and six forced fumbles.
Ref: ESPN.com, Mlive.com