Making an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Cliff Avril said this week that he supports fellow Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett in his quest for a new contract, writes Kirk Larrabee of 247Sports.com.
“I’ve been through the whole contract situation, so I don’t fault him from wanting a new deal from a standpoint of they cut you after a year if they feel you don’t play as well as that contract,” Avril said. “If you feel like you outplayed the contract after a year, go for it. What’s the worst they can tell you? I don’t blame him for that … Hopefully they figure something out, if not this year, hopefully he outplays it again next year and they make sure something happens next year.”
Here are a few more Friday odds and ends from around the NFL (and the CFL):
- Former Mizzou pass rusher Michael Sam returned to Montreal and is expected to be at the Alouettes’ team meetings this Sunday and at practice the following day, reports Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette. Sam left the team about two weeks ago for personal reasons, but GM Jim Popp indicated earlier this week that he thought the former Rams seventh-rounder draftee would be back.
- Using this week’s Peyton Manning trade rumor as a point of reference, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report explains that NFL teams and executives often engage in “hypothetical” trade discussions, which gives them plausible deniability if word of those talks leak. As for Manning, one general manager tells Freeman that the Broncos “would be stupid not to talk to teams” about trading him, even if a deal was never likely.
- Since the NFL’s instituted human-growth hormone testing last October, no player has tested positive. However, it’s possible that those glowing results can be attributed to the limitations of the test. Dr. John Lombardo tells Alex Marvez and Gil Brandt on SiriusXM NFL Radio that the current test has a “very short window,” meaning a player who used HGH a few days before being tested may not test positive. A new test in development would have a much longer window – about five to eight days – according to Lombardo.
- In case it needed to be clarified, Falcons PR man Jay Adams (Twitter link) and head coach Dan Quinn (link via ESPN.com) both confirmed this week that Quinn’s comments about bringing 53-year-old Herschel Walker to the team’s training camp were made in jest.