Cleveland Browns center Alex Mack, 30, has returned from the broken leg he suffered last season to Pro Bowl form this year, as reported earlier this week. Normally, you try to keep a guy like that on the roster when he has the opportunity to bolt. In abnormal circumstances, as the Browns find themselves, you do anything to keep a guy like that.
Cleveland is suffering through its eighth consecutive losing season. Free agency isn't going to bring in any big names. Mack is no spring chicken, but he's a high character guy who's one of the best at his positions. The Browns need statements like that in their locker room.
Mack can decide at season's end whether or not to opt-out of his deal. Given the chaos and instability with Cleveland's organization, no one would blame if he chose free agency.
"I will say that winning is really important to me," Mack told Cleveland.com. And if winning is what he's looking for, the Browns may not be the right fit at the moment.
Mack has never played a snap for another team in his professional career. In fact, he just appeared in his 100th career game Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. In his seven pro seasons, the Browns have mustered just a 29-70 record. In that time, Mack has played for four separate head coaches and blocked for 13 different quarterbacks. Even dispatched Kings in "Game of Thrones" have a better track record than that.
This isn't the first time Browns fans have had to worry about their starting center. Last year, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed him to a five-year, $42 million offer sheet in restricted free agency, with the Browns matching soon after.
Cleveland will be unable to franchise him should he choose to opt out this off-season. If he remains on the team he will be due $8 million for the 2016 season. But even if I were a betting man, I'd save my money so I could afford his jersey with his new team.
