Cliff Avril will always be one of the key players of Pete Carroll’s tenure with the Seattle Seahawks, having much to do with their defensive dominance that started in 2013 when the team signed him and Michael Bennett to play on the d-line. In his four mostly-healthy seasons with the Seahawks, Avril had 33.5 sacks, 19 passes defensed, and 14 forced fumbles, as Seattle went 45-18-1, with four playoff trips, two Super Bowl appearances, and one ring.
On Wednesday, Avril reaffirmed what some other former Seahawks players have already said: that the second Super Bowl loss — rather than bring the team together because of how close they came to repeating as champions — started to tear the team apart.