Cliff Avril; Elite?

With the impending free agency period coming up around the corner the up and coming Detroit Lions are beginning to face some tough decisions. This comes with the territory of making a playoff run with young, talented, productive players; they want to be paid for the work they have done and will do. Specifically the Lions must deal with their free agent defensive end Cliff Avril as priority number one this off season. Avril led the lions in sacks with 11 in 2011 and has said he would like to be payed nicely with a long term contract. The Lions would no doubt love to keep Avril in Detroit however a big time long term deal may not be possible with today's salary cap NFL. If the Lions were to pay Avril in the $10 million range per season for the next 4 years, this would tie up a considerable amount of cap space that will be necessary for the team to have in order to keep around stars; Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, and Ndamukong Suh. Johnson will likely become the highest paid receiver in the NFL and Stafford won`t be far behind him at quarterback.

The Lions do have some power in this situation however as they have the right to place a franchise tag on Avril. The Franchise Tag is essentially a 1 year contract where the player is to be paid the average salary of the top 5 players at his position. This would likely cost the Lions $10.6 million next season and would force Avril to stay in Detroit for at least 1 more season before he is eligible to hit the free agent market. Thus, the Lions would not be stuck in a long term deal and could have their top defensive end back for another playoff run. Avril has said he is looking for a long term deal and would consider holding out of training camp if he was given the franchise tag. This seems slightly greedy for a player who would be receiving a pay raise form $2 million to $10 million. However I do understand Avril`s want for a long term deal as life in the NFL is extremely unpredictable where one injury could cost a player his career leaving him with no income.
The major question the Lions need to look at is; is Avril an elite level player and does he deserve to be paid a salary among the top 5 defensive ends in the league?

Avril's 11 sacs last season rank put him in a tie for 5th among defensive ends in the NFL. Avril finished 2011 with 36 total tackles ranking him 61st in the league among DEs. The final stat favouring Avril is his league leading 6 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 2 touchdowns. These type of stats demonstrate that Avril is a play maker. In my opinion the Lions should franchise Avril as he is on the brink of becoming elite and is worth the money for at least next season and they can deal with him long term after that if they still wish. Avril will need to learn to understand that the NFL is a business and if the Lions franchise him he will have to make the best of it in order to receive his long term deal next season. Feel free to comment on what you think of Avril's future in Detroit.