For the second time in as many days, the Seahawks have locked up a key member of their defense who was in the final year of his contract, signing defensive end Cliff Avril to a four-year extension.
According to a league source, the deal, which was first reported by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, is worth $28.5 million with $16 million in guaranteed money. This move comes a day after the Seahawks locked up linebacker K.J. Wright with a four-year deal, and it means that, going back to the 2013 offseason, the Seahawks have locked up many of their best defensive players, signing long-term deals with safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas, cornerback Richard Sherman, defensive end Michael Bennett, and now Wright and Avril.
“We have something special here in Seattle and I’m happy that I’ll be apart of it for a few more years,” Avril wrote on Twitter.
Avril, 28, came to Seattle in free agency along with Bennett in 2013 to bolster the pass rush, and those two were a huge part of Seattle’s Super Bowl run. Avril had eight sacks last season and five forced fumbles, then had 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in the postseason. And while his production is down this year (4.5 sacks) advanced metrics such as those used by the analytical site Pro Football Focus still have him as one of the league’s most effective pass rushers.
“Cliff has been instrumental in what we’ve been building on the defensive side of the ball and we are excited that he’ll be with us for another four years,” general manager John Schneider said in a press release announcing the extension. “He has been relentless in his approach to the game and his passion for winning is contagious. This is another great day for the Seahawks and the 12s.”
Avril and Wright’s contracts were made possible, in part, by the trade of Percy Harvin that freed up significant money both this year and next. These two deals could make it difficult, however, to keep Seattle’s other free-agent-to-be on defense, cornerback Byron Maxwell. The Seahawks will try to sign Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson to extensions this offseason, and with so much money being spent on defensive players already, including three defensive backs, there might not be enough left for Maxwell, who should have a pretty big market in free agency.
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