September 11, 2011; Tampa, FL, USA; Detroit Lions defensive end Cliff Avril (92) during the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Detroit Lions defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-20. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

The time has come and gone for the Lions to sign Cliff Avril to a long term deal, and while no deal was struck with Avril, the Lions have allowed themselves future financial flexibility to re-sign star players like Stafford and Suh, and any future free agents.

By not re-signing Avril to a long term deal the Lions have guaranteed Avril’s services for the year, maintaining their team chemistry and have given themselves more time to decide what to ultimately do with Avril.

If Avril continues to improve it will be hard for the Lions to let Avril walk after next season, but the Lions could always find a way to sign and trade Avril for future picks or players. If this were the case, the Lions will have handled Avril’s contract situation perfectly.

Holding off on an extension with Avril for 2012 should give the Lions enough time to try and develop back up defensive end Willy Young if the Lions decided to replace Avril. Also, if Avril’s production improves and they decide to replace Avril with Young, the Lions could get some serious value in a trade to help improve the team.

If Avril’s production declines in 2012 and the Lions continue their winning ways, than Avril will lose his leverage in contract negotiations and the Lions should have a strong chance of signing Avril for a more reasonable price. In doing so, the Lions will be able to maintain their key players and have some cap room to add where they see fit.

Most fans, including myself, would love to see Avril stay in Detroit, but only for the right price. Avril is all about the team and he is the kind of high character guy the Lions need in the locker room.

The worst thing that could happen for the Lions is that Avril preforms well next season and they can’t find a way to get picks or players for him in a trade. Losing a marque player like Avril and not receiving anything in return for his departure could be tough to overcome. However, the Lions would still have some financial flexibility to make some deals in free agency to fill the void left by Avril.

Let’s hope the Lions channel their inner New England Patriots and find the best solution to improve the team.

Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

The official deadline for NFL teams to negotiate with players that received the franchise tag is 4 p.m. but the Detroit Lions and Cliff Avril will not be taking talks down to the wire.

Talks have ended between Lions and Avril, according to NFL Network. Cliff will play under $10.6 million franchise tender this season.

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) July 16, 2012

The two sides will not be able to pick up talks on a long term deal until the conclusion of the 2012 season. If a deal is not struck prior to the start of the next free agency period the Lions will be forced to decide between letting Avril test the market of use the franchise tag on him again at a cost of around $12.7 million.

If there is a silver lining to this news is that it gives the Lions more flexibility next offseason when they will have decisions to make on not only Avril but other important defensive players like Louis Delmas, Corey Williams, Lawrence Jackson, Chris Houston, Justin Durant and DeAndre Levy.

Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte and Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee reached agreements on long term deals with their respective teams earlier today after being designated as franchise players earlier this offseason.

Tom Lewand released the following statement regarding the situation with Cliff Avril:

After extensive discussions with Cliff and his representative, we were unable to reach an agreement on a new contract by today’s 4 p.m. deadline. While we are disappointed that we could not execute a long-term deal, we do look forward to having Cliff with us this season under the terms of the franchise tag.

Dec 24, 2011; Detroit, MI, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) looks to pass while being pressured by Detroit Lions defensive end Cliff Avril (92) during the second half at Ford Field. Detroit won 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE

The franchise tag deadline doesn’t come until 4 p.m. today but word came out before noon that the Lions would indeed use the franchise tag to retain Cliff Avril. Neither side wanted it to happen but Martin Mayhew previously stated that the only option worse than having to franchise tag Avril would be moving forward without him.

The point to keep in mind is that they used the non-exclusive franchise tag meaning that Avril will be able to negotiate with other NFL teams but the Lions would have the right to match the offer or receive two first-round picks. It’s not impossible that there isn’t a team out there willing to pay that price but it is steep and should allow the Lions to turn their attention elsewhere, namely towards an extension for Calvin Johnson and new deals for Stephen Tulloch, Jeff Backus and Eric Wright before they become free agents next week.

The best option remains agreeing to a long-term deal with Cliff Avril before July 15 at which time the terms of the franchise tag are locked in for the 2012 season.

The trick going forward remains cap space and using the franchise tag on Avril won’t help that situation but the Lions now have pieces of the puzzle locking into place. Fortunately, there isn’t an obvious hangup to that playing out and Avril’s agent has plenty of experience in cases like this:

And no long-term deal for now, but Avril’s agent has done multi-year deals w/David Harris, Tamba, D’Qwell w/tag in place or about to be

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 5, 2012

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