Before the NFL lockout began back in March, the Detroit Lions tendered an offer to defensive end Turk McBride, who was considered a restricted free agent at the time. Under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, McBride is now considered an unrestricted free agent, which allows him to freely sign with any team he wants. He used that freedom to agree to a deal with the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, according to CBS Sports' Larry Holder.
The Lions have pretty good depth at defensive end with Kyle Vanden Bosch, Lawrence Jackson and restricted free agent Cliff Avril, but it's unfortunate that they lost McBride He joined the Lions from Kansas City with defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham in 2009 and had 33 tackles, five sacks and three forced fumbles last season. He made eight starts in 15 games and showed a lot of promise going forward.
With McBride departing for New Orleans, it's important that the Lions get Avril re-signed. He is a restricted free agent, so there isn't a risk of losing him, but it would be nice if a deal could be worked out soon. He has a one-year tender on the table, but Avril wants a long-term deal. I think the Lions want to sign him to a long-term deal as well, but they have been busy with other things this past week.
Even if Avril signed his tender right now he wouldn't be able to practice until Thursday, so the hope is something will be worked out by then.