Clint Avril Ruled out vs. Rams with Neck Injury, Pete Carroll Talks DE's Future

On Wednesday, the Seattle Seahawks announced defensive end Cliff Avril will not play in Sunday's NFC West battle against the Los Angeles Rams. 

"Cliff's not going to play this week," head coach Pete Carroll said. "We're going to take some time to make sure that we're evaluating him well like we talked about, and we're going to hold him out."

The announcement noted Carroll revealed Monday Avril suffered "a serious stinger" during Seattle's last game against the Indianapolis Colts, but Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times pointed out the coach indicated the defensive end's long-term availability is in question:

The 2016 Pro Bowler played the first five seasons of his career for the Detroit Lions and joined Seattle before the 2013 campaign.

He has been a dominant pass-rushing force since he entered the league in 2008 with 74 sacks, 11.5 of which came last year. He has tallied at least 5.0 sacks every season throughout his career and had 9.0 in 2015 with Seattle as well.

While the Seahawks will miss Avril's presence in their defensive front, they are better equipped than most to deal with the loss thanks to Frank Clark. The 2015 second-round pick had 10.0 sacks last season and should see more playing time following Avril's setback.

The team's announcement noted the Seahawks also bolstered their depth at the position after Avril's injury by signing Quinton Jefferson off the Rams' practice squad.