Owner Jimmy Haslam seems pretty confident that center Alex Mack will remain with the Cleveland Browns next season even if he’s signed to an offer sheet by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Haslam seemed to indicate the Browns are prepared to match any offer sheet given to Mack by the Jaguars.
“We remain optimistic that Alex Mack will be a Cleveland Brown for a long time,’' Haslam said. ""We want him to be. I think we’ve made it very clear that he’s the kind of person, the kind of player we want in our organization.”
When asked if he’d match any offer from Jacksonville, Haslam just smiled and said, “We want Alex to be a Cleveland Brown.”
The Browns placed the transition tag on Mack in March. Mack would make $10.039 million with Cleveland this season if he were to sign the tender. The Jaguars - or any other interested teams - have until July 22 to sign tagged players to an offer sheet. The Browns would then have five days in which to watch the offer. If no offer sheet is signed and Mack still hasn’t signed his tender with Cleveland by that point, his rights would still revert exclusively to the Browns.
A source told PFT the Browns would match an offer sheet with $22 million guaranteed to Mack “in a second.” It indicates the importance Cleveland feels in keeping one of the league’s best centers in town.