Cliff Avril will be playing catch-up, seeing time in his first preseason game on Friday when the Lions play at Baltimore.

After a week-long holdout, the Lions defensive end wasn’t ready for the preseason opener last week against the Browns.

Avril, who signed a one-year $10.6 million tender, has seemingly stepped in right where he left off last season.

“Cliff is a professional,’’ coach Jim Schwartz said. “Had a great year last year with no offseason, came in great shape. You know he spends a lot of time in the offseason working out with Kyle Vanden Bosch, which has really made a big difference for a guy like Cliff, a young player having a role model like that. He’s come out here with a good work ethic each day.’’

Like the other veterans Avril works to improve each day.

“Things that after watching the film last year, we thought he could do a little bit better at; add to his repertoire a little bit,’’ Schwartz said. “He’s come out with a great attitude to work. He’s a little bit behind everybody else, but great athletes like that catch up pretty quickly. It will be fun to get him back on the field and watch him.”

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