National Football League

Glazer: Browns decide to match Jags' offer to Alex Mack

Published Apr. 11, 2014 12:02 p.m. ET

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CLEVELAND -- FOX Sports 1 NFL Insider Jay Glazer reports that the Browns have decided to match the Jaguars' 5-year, $42M offer to C ALex Mack.  

The club secured the right to match Jacksonville's offer after placing a $10 million transition tag on the 28-year-old Mack before free agency opened.

The deal includes $26 million guaranteed and makes Mack the NFL's highest-paid center. The team entered free agency with re-signing Mack as one of its top priorities.

Mack's contract also has an option for him to void the deal after two seasons and a "no trade" clause.  

Earlier this week, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said he was confident Mack would remain with Cleveland.

"We remain optimistic that Alex Mack will be a Cleveland Brown for a long time," Haslam said at the premiere of "Draft Day," a fictional film about the Browns. "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."

Mack has played 4,998 consecutive snaps with the Browns. In 2011, Mack played despite a severe attack of appendicitis that landed him in surgery the following day. He has developed into one of the game's top centers, lauded for his blocking ability, leadership and helping Cleveland's quarterbacks read defenses.

With Mack in the middle and Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas on the left side, the Browns have one of the AFC's top offensive lines.  

"Obviously, we've made it kind of evident how important Alex is to this team, and whether it's talking with (Pro Bowl tackle) Joe (Thomas) or talking with some of the other players, we're all just hoping it gets resolved soon and he's back," quarterback Brian Hoyer said. "Obviously we have a new system to learn and he's the anchor of that offensive line."

It was understandable that Mack wanted to test the free-agent waters. The Browns have gone just 23-57 since he joined them in 2009, and Mike Pettine will be Mack's fourth head coach in six years

Mack reportedly enjoyed his visit with the Jaguars, who like the Browns, have been stuck in a cycle of losing. But the team's offer to Mack is a strong sign of its intention to upgrade its roster and revamp one of the league's worst offensive lines. The Jaguars selected left tackle Luke Joeckel with the second overall pick in last year's draft and signed former Denver guard Zane Beadles in free agency last month.

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