Cliff Avril

Cliff Avril
refer to caption
Avril with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014
No. 56, 92
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1986-04-08) April 8, 1986 (age 38)
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school:Clay (Green Cove Springs, Florida)
College:Purdue
NFL draft:2008 / round: 3 / pick: 92
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:298
Sacks:74.0
Forced fumbles:30
Fumble recoveries:7
Interceptions:1
Defensive touchdowns:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Clifford Samuel Avril (born April 8, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was selected in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions. He also played for the Seattle Seahawks, with whom he won Super Bowl XLVIII and made a Pro Bowl.

Early life

Avril was born in Jacksonville, Florida, to Haitian parents.[1][2][3] He attended Clay High School in Green Cove Springs, Florida, where he was a four-sport star in football, track and field, weightlifting, and basketball. Avril was an All State player in basketball and football. He was an All-conference selection his junior year. As a senior in 2004, he was a second-team All-state selection and was named to The Florida Times-Union Super 24 team after recording 80 tackles, including 11 for loss and nine sacks, with four pass breakups, leading his team to an 11–2 record.[4]

He also excelled in track & field during his junior and senior seasons. He captured a regional shot put title at the 2004 FHSAA 2A Region 2, recording a career-best throw of 15.91 meters (52 ft, 2.5 in).[5] He earned a third-place finish in the shot put at the outdoor state finals.[6] In addition, he also had a 335-pound max bench press and posted a 4.6-second 40-yard dash time.

College career

Avril then attended Purdue University, where he started 12 games at strong-side linebacker and 23 at left defensive end. After converting to defensive end in his final two seasons at Purdue, he recorded 30 of his 35.5 tackles-for-losses and 12.5 of his 13 sacks from the left end position.

In 2004, he appeared in all 12 games, including four starts made 36 tackles (23 solo, 13 assists), including 3.0 for loss and 0.5 sacks, with one pass breakup and one forced fumble. In 2005, he appeared in 10 games, including four starts and had 33 tackles (21 solo, 12 assists), including 2.5 for loss. In 2006, he started all 14 games, the first four at linebacker and last 10 at defensive end and recorded 84 tackles (51 solo, 33 assists) 15.0 tackles-for-loss, six sacks and six pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 2+7⁄8 in
(1.90 m) 		252 lb
(114 kg) 		34+5⁄8 in
(0.88 m) 		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		 4.51 s 1.51 s 2.58 s 4.51 s 6.90 s 32.5 in
(0.83 m)		 9 ft 9 in
(2.97 m)		 27 reps 17
All values from NFL Combine[7][8][9]

Detroit Lions

Avril was selected in the third round (92nd overall) of the 2008 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.[10] He signed a three-year, $1.634 million contract. In 2008, he recorded 23 tackles and five sacks. He was named to the Sporting News All-Rookie team. 2009 saw even better tackle statistics for Avril. He recorded 18 more tackles in 2009 than he did his rookie year in 2008. But his pass rushing ability stats did not improve much over his rookie year, as he recorded just a half sack more (5.5) in 2009.

In 2010, Avril posted the best stats of his career with 33 tackles and 8.5 sacks. Not to be outdone by this, Avril played in all 16 games for the first time in 2011. He had 36 tackles, and a team-high 11 sacks. Avril had more forced fumbles than any other defensive end with 6. He also had 3 fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown) to go along with an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Many sportswriters felt that he was worthy of the Pro Bowl, but Jared Allen, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Jason Babin were selected instead to the NFC roster.

On March 5, 2012, the Lions placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Avril, keeping him in Detroit for the 2012 season.[11] On August 5, Avril signed his tender, which was worth $10.6 million.[12] Prior to the franchise tag, Avril rejected a 3-year, $30 million contract offered by the Lions. In 2012, Avril had 9.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one pass defensed, which Lions management considered a decline in performance from the previous year.[13]

Seattle Seahawks

On March 13, 2013, Avril signed a two-year, $13 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks. In the 2013 season, he was credited for his contribution to the Seahawks' dominant victory in Super Bowl XLVIII over the Denver Broncos.[14] He set a Super Bowl record by scoring only twelve seconds into the game with a safety stemming from a botched opening snap by the Broncos, and he later forced an interception that led to a touchdown.[14] Following the Seahawks' victory, Avril became the first player in NFL history to win a Super Bowl after having been on a winless team (his rookie year on the Lions in 2008).

In the 2014 season, after recording just 2 sacks over the first 10 games, Avril would register 3 in the last 6 games, coinciding with a 6-game winning streak during which the Seahawks defense allowed a total of 39 points. On December 19, 2014, Avril signed a 4-year extension with the Seahawks worth $28.5 million.[15] Avril would also register a sack in the divisional round playoff game against the Carolina Panthers and NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers, both Seahawk victories. In Super Bowl XLIX, Avril recorded 2 tackles, but left in the third quarter with a concussion and did not return. The Seahawks failed to repeat as Super Bowl champions as they lost 28–24 to the New England Patriots.

In the 2015 season, Avril was evaluated by Pro Football Focus as the fifth best edge defender in the league at the halfway point of the season. Through those eight games, Avril recorded 30 tackles (20 solo), 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 5 pass deflections, and 5 tackles for loss.[16]

In the 2016 season, Avril was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October. He was also named to his first Pro Bowl, and was ranked 56th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.[17][18]

In Week 4 of the 2017 season, Avril suffered a serious neck injury in the first quarter of Seattle's 46–18 win over the Indianapolis Colts. He was inadvertently kicked in his chin against the Colts and had been experiencing numbness in his arms.[19] Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll commented on the injury saying Avril will be out "a while".[20] He was placed on injured reserve on October 20, 2017.[21]

On May 4, 2018, the Seahawks released Avril with a failed physical designation.[22]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP Tackles Fumbles Interceptions Other
Comb Solo Ast Sack FF FR Yds Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD Stf Yds KB
2008 DET 15 23 18 5 5.0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 0
2009 DET 13 41 27 14 5.5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 8 0
2010 DET 13 33 23 10 8.5 1 1 10 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 8 0
2011 DET 16 36 29 7 11.0 6 3 24 1 4 4 4 1 4 2 5 0
2012 DET 16 35 28 7 9.5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 40 0
2013 SEA 15 20 14 6 8.0 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 2 0
2014 SEA 16 22 15 7 5.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 8 0
2015 SEA 16 47 31 16 9.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 7 17 0
2016 SEA 16 39 20 19 11.5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 5 0
2017 SEA 4 2 2 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 140 298 207 91 74.0 30 7 44 1 4 4 4 1 29 27 97 0

[23]

Post-playing career

Avril was a guest in Germany during the NFL Trophy Tour 2018, including in Hamburg and Cologne.

References

  1. ^ Millman, Joel (December 4, 2009). "These Days, Everybody's All-American Just May Be a Haitian". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  2. ^ "Chart: Haitian Americans in the NFL". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  3. ^ Cliff Avril [@cliffavril] (October 24, 2013). "RT @pastorbeieler @cliffavril only if the "him" is Jesus Christ! #thewaythetruththelife➠ That's the only one I know it to be" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Cliff Avril Bio – PURDUESPORTS.COM – Purdue Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  5. ^ "FHSAA 2A Region 2 2004 – Complete Results Page 1 (Raw)". Flrunners.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  6. ^ "FHSAA 1A-2A Outdoor State Finals 2004 – 2A Boys Complete Results (Raw)". Flrunners.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  7. ^ "Cliff Avril Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  8. ^ "2008 Draft Scout Cliff Avril, Purdue NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  9. ^ "Cliff Avril 2008 NFL Draft Profile". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 30, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  10. ^ "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "Detroitlions.com Blog | Lions use franchise tag on Avril «". Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  12. ^ "Avril signs 1-year, $10.6 million deal with Lions – Yahoo! Sports". Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  13. ^ "Martin Mayhew: Signing Cliff Avril was too costly". NFL.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Burke, Chris (February 3, 2014). "Cliff Avril 'deserves a raise' after whipping Denver's line in Super Bowl XLVIII". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  15. ^ Schwab, Frank (February 3, 2014). "Cliff Avril goes from 0–16 with the Lions to a Super Bowl championship". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  16. ^ "NFL, Fantasy Football, and NFL Draft". Pff.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  17. ^ Ortega, Mark E. (November 3, 2016). "Tom Brady, David Johnson are Players of the Month". NFL.com.
  18. ^ "'Top 100 Players of 2017': No. 56 Cliff Avril – NFL Videos". NFL.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  19. ^ "Cliff Avril's neck injury may be career-ending". Sporting News. October 8, 2017. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  20. ^ "Carroll: Seahawks' Cliff Avril (neck) to be out 'a while'". NFL.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  21. ^ Boyle, John (October 20, 2017). "Seahawks Place Defensive End Cliff Avril On Injured Reserve". Seahawks.com.
  22. ^ Wesseling, Chris (May 4, 2018). "Seahawks release Cliff Avril after failed physical". NFL.com.
  23. ^ "Cliff Avril Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
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