After the Detroit Lions and DE Cliff Avril were not able to reach a long-term deal by the July 16 deadline, both sides knew the former Purdue Boilermaker would have to play the 2012 season under the one-year franchise tag. It was just a matter of when Avril would sign the tender and report to training camp. This morning, that situation finally was resolved.
Lions defensive end Cliff Avril ended his holdout this morning and reported to Lions training camp.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) August 5, 2012
Lions DE Cliff Avil has passed his physical and officially signed his $10.6 million franchise tender.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) August 5, 2012
Avril finished with 11 sacks last season to go along with six forced fumbles to lead a much-improved Detroit defense.
The Lions' third-round pick from 2008 missed eight days of training camp. He reportedly said no to an extension that would've paid him $30 million over the next three seasons prior to the July 16 deadline, Twentyman says.
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