Former Seahawks Star Clears the Air on Russell Wilson
|Former Pro Bowler Cliff Avril is decked out in vintage Seattle Seahawks gear smiling while discussing his former Super Bowl teammates.
Avril is not one of the former Seahawks players who has publicly criticized Russell Wilson during the rocky start to his tenure with the Denver Broncos.
During an exclusive interview with Heavy Sports, Avril discussed the Seattle’s Super Bowl runs, the brotherhood of former Seahawks players, his partnership with Courtyard by Marriott and the missed opportunities of not winning multiple titles.
Avril concedes there was “some beef here and there” during the Legion of Boom era. The former pass rusher believes some of the team’s ex-players had unrealistic expectations about how Wilson was treated in Seattle.
“For me, I never had an issue with Russell Wilson or the offense,” Avril remarks during an October 26, 2023 exclusive interview. “I give this example all the time: since I started playing football in high school, I might have been the best player on my team. I don’t think I was, but I might have been the best player on the team.
“In high school and college and even when I played in Detroit, the quarterbacks always got treated differently from everybody on the team. They might not have been the best player on the team, but they always got treated differently,” Avril continues.
“… So for guys to have expected anything different, I think is unfair to Russ because he just plays the position that that allows. But overall, I never had any issues with any of the guys.
“I do think there might have been some beef here and there. But honestly, what family doesn’t have that type of stuff? And what we had, we were definitely a brotherhood. We were definitely family members, and we had clashes from time to time.”
Seahawks News: Cliff Avril Predicts Seattle Could Have Won 3 Super Bowls During Legion of Boom Era
The Seahawks as three-time Super Bowl champions? This is what Avril believes was lost by the team’s goal line interception to drop the 2015 Super Bowl. Avril is adamant that Seattle would have gone on to win a third Super Bowl if the Seahawks did not sustain a heart-breaking loss to the Patriots.
“There’s no doubt in my mind [the Seahawks would have won three Super Bowls]. I think guys lost a little bit of confidence in the message once when we lost,” Avril explains. “…That team was on fire. You got to think about it. I was one of the oldest guys on the defense, and I was only at year seven, at that time, for the second Super Bowl. Bobby was at year three, year four. So everybody was still young.
“Everybody was still ascending in the right direction, and I think losing that Super Bowl kind of hurt us in the sense of believing in the entire message and the philosophy. But overall though, if we win that Super Bowl, no doubt in my mind that we win another one, and we probably have one of the best teams ever.”
Cliff Avril Watches Nearly Every Seahawks Game With Former Seattle Players Like Kam Chancellor
Avril last played in the NFL for the Seahawks in 2017 as the pass rusher sustained a career-ending neck injury, playing in just four games during his final season. The news came after Avril made his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2016.