Dec. 16, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA: Detroit Lions defensive end Cliff Avril (92) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Lions 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The start of July marked the coming of the deadline for the Detroit Lions to reach an agreement with Cliff Avril on a long term deal. There were plenty of good arguments to be made for or against doing the deal, but most SideLion Report readers expected that Cliff Avril would have to play under the franchise tag. Sure enough, the two sides weren’t able to come to an agreement.

Calvin Johnson’s monster 2011 season had everyone looking forward to what he could do in 2012. SLR’s Marty Medvedik explored the possibility of Johnson finishing with 2,000 receiving yards in a season. Interesting to see how that played out…

The off-field news got even worse for the Lions when cornerback Aaron Berry was arrested for a second time in a month in late July. It became painfully obvious that the Lions’ attempts to get through to Berry weren’t working and something drastic had to be done to send a message to Berry and all the other young Lions who had run-ins with the law over the offseason. Berry was cut the next day.

Dec 2, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz during the second quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Lions received a lot of praise coming off their successful 2011 season with a lot of it coming in early June. Pro Football Weekly giving the Lions consideration for having the best offense in the NFL, early fantasy football rankings were kind to the Lions and Adam Schefter saw no reason to say that the Lions couldn’t contend for Super Bowls.

After losing his rookie season to an Achilles injury, Mikel Leshoure was probably anxious to get the 2012 season started. The NFL announced that Leshoure would have to wait a couple games to make his debut when they handed him a two game suspension as a result of his marijuana-related arrests.

The Lions had a total of six arrests through the month of June when Aaron Berry got in on the act. Criticism of the Lions started getting louder but Jim Schwartz and the Lions agreed on a contract extension, although both sides remained quiet on the details.

Photo Credit: Mike DiNovo-US PRESSWIRE

Aaron Berry isn’t currently with an NFL team but the league is taking away games just the same. From mlive.com’s Anwar Richardson via twitter:

#NFL spokesman said former #Lions CB Aaron Berry received a three game #NFL suspension

— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) August 20, 2012

The Detroit Lions parted ways with Berry following two arrests between OTAs and training camp. Berry was arrested for DUI and followed it up a few weeks later with a second arrest after brandishing a weapon at pedestrians. He was not claimed on the waiver wire following his release and he is still a free agent, even as a number of NFL teams cycle bodies in and out of camp.

Concerns over his character have obviously been enough to keep NFL teams away but the three game suspension should add to that. Is there a team out there that will be desperate enough to overlook Berry’s troubles AND be patient enough to wait out a three game suspension? Even before news of the suspension broke, national writers were quick to suggest teams should look elsewhere.

What do you think, will Aaron Berry eventually get another chance in the NFL?