While the Browns matched the Jaguars’ five-year, $42 million offer sheet to Alex Mack, the two-time Pro Bowl center reportedly has no qualms about staying with Cleveland, the team with which he’s played his first five NFL seasons.
“I’m excited. I’m fired up,” Mack told Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer for a story published Saturday. “There’s no bad blood. Now that it’s done, I’m happy.”
Mack also told the Plain Dealer that he was “happy to be in Cleveland” and told the paper he didn’t say he wanted to move on to another team.
“I don’t believe I ever said that,” Mack told the Plain Dealer. “Seeing the options and trying to test free agency and see what else was out there was something that we wanted to do and we had a small opportunity to kind of get a little bit of that.”
The Browns’ quick decision to match Mack’s offer sheet clearly indicates they don’t have any worries about Mack being unhappy back in Cleveland.
If he chooses, the 28-year-old Mack can get out of his new deal after the 2015 season. However, by then, he will be 30 years old, and his value on the open market could be less than it is now.
In short, it’s easy to see why he signed the offer sheet. And it’s also understandable why the Browns matched. In Mack and left tackle Joe Thomas, the Browns have two durable standout linemen.