Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril is dealing with a “serious stinger” and will be sidelined “awhile,” head coach Pete Carroll told reporters, including Curtis Crabtree of KJR (Twitter link) and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), the latter of whom reports that Avril is experiencing numbness in his arm.
Seattle’s defensive line hasn’t lived up to its talent thus far in 2017, as the club’s front four ranks in the bottom half of the league in both adjusted sack rate and adjusted line yards. But it’s hard to argue that the Seahawks don’t have the pieces to cover up a lengthy Avril absence. Frank Clark, who’s played on roughly half of Seattle’s defensive snaps this season after posting 10 sacks in 2016, should see increased usage, while the Hawks could also more heavily deploy former Eagles first-round pick Marcus Smith, who saw action on 27 plays in Seattle’s Week 4 victory.
Avril, 31, has been a stalwart for the Seahawks in recent years, as he appeared in 63 of 64 games from 2013-16 and racked up 33.5 sacks during that time. Although he’d been on the field for 68% of Seattle’s plays thus far, Pro Football Focus hasn’t been enamored with his work — Avril has graded as a bottom-five edge defender and earned horrible marks as a pass-rusher, per PFF.