Seahawks' Carroll hints Pro Bowler Avril may retire after neck injury

Seattle Seahawks defensive end - and 10-year NFL veteran - Cliff Avril made his first Pro Bowl last season, and he may not take a shot at getting his second.

Head coach Pete Carroll confirmed Avril will be out a while and the neck injury he suffered Sunday "could be" a long-term issue. Carroll said the team wants to be cautious with his recovery and left the door open for his star pass rusher to call it quits on his career.

"Like I'm saying, we're going very slowly and making sure that he takes the opportunity to talk to as many people as he needs to talk to so he knows what he's got and what we need to do with it and we're just going to take care of him and make sure that he's well," Carroll said Wednesday, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "And if he wants to come back, and we want to bring him back, we'll let you know when we know but right now we don't."

Avril was diagnosed with serious neck stingers after an early exit from Sunday night's win. The 31-year-old has never missed more than three games in one season. He notched a career-high 11.5 sacks last season.

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