Quote:Then why wouldn't the Browns just match the offer (essentially the same price as the transition tag this year) and then just cut him before the 3rd league day bonus kicked in? That'd basically give them exactly what they are expecting right now if Mack doesn't sign an offer sheet as is. 

 

I feel like Cleveland was willing to gamble on paying him $10 million this season in the hopes that he'd sign a long term deal which they could simply match. Matching this deal would yield no compensatory pick and I imagine they'd like to get more than one season of Alex Mack, especially considering the compensatory pick could end up being in the mid rounds. This contact is by no means guaranteed to work, but it could put Cleveland in a position where they have to think long and hard about the cost/benefits of matching.

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