It's easy to forget when you haven't seen NFL football in seven months, but preseason games are often terrible. Most teams don't run anything resembling their real playbooks, as they don't want to give away anything on film for their opponents during the regular season. They're also reluctant to play starters in order to avoid injuries in an ultimately meaningless exhibition game. These contests are pretty much reserved for evaluating rookies and players on the roster bubble and tend to be sloppy and incredibly boring.
The Seattle Seahawks are doing what they can to liven up those games, at least. Last year they added a few team legends to their preseason broadcast team, including fullback Mike Robinson, defensive end Michael Bennett and linebacker K.J. Wright. This year Wright will be busy as a defensive quality control coach for the division rival Santa Clara 49ers, but Seattle has found an excellent replacement for him on the broadcast.
The Seahawks just anounced today in their new media guide that Super Bowl champion defensive end Cliff Avril is joining the preseason TV team. He will apparently be providing analysis throughout the games. If you'd heard Avril on a podcast before you know he's an insightful analyst, so this is a good addition.
After playing his college ball at Purdue, Avril played the first five years of his career with the Detroit Lions, then joined Seattle prior to the 2013 season. He played four years and change with the Seahawks until a neck injury in Week 4 of the 2017 campaign ended his career. All together, he appeared in 140 NFL games, totaling 74 sacks and 146 quarterback hits. Avril peaked as a Pro Bowler during the 2016 season.
The Seahawks will open their preseason schedule on the road against Jim Harbaugh's Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, August 10.
