Alex Mack reportedly will sign Jaguars' offer sheet; Browns poised to match?
The Browns can match any offer for Alex Mack, but receive no draft-pick compensation if a team signs him away. (Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
(UPDATE: 4:20 p.m. ET) The Browns have a decision to make on center Alex Mack.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Mack plans to sign a five-year offer sheet in Jacksonville this week, leaving the Browns five days to decide whether or not to match. Cleveland hit Mack with the transitional tag earlier this offseason, giving it the ability to match any offer sheet Mack signs, but Schefter reports that the Jaguars' offer "will be designed to make it as difficult as possible for the Browns to match."
Losing Mack would be a big loss for the team, but Browns owner Jimmy Haslam appears confident that the team will be able to retain one of their best players along the offensive front.
While speaking with Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Haslam appeared to hint that the team will match any offer sheet that Mack receives.
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“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.