Alex Mack to opt out of Browns contract

[Coltsfan1284]

A source on yahoo said that Alex Mack is going to opt out of his contract and while he is 30 he was ranked the best center in football 2 years ago and would be about 10 mil a year to attain I would look hard into it.

[Chucklez]

4 minutes ago, Coltsfan1284 said:

A source on yahoo said that Alex Mack is going to opt out of his contract and while he is 30 he was ranked the best center in football 2 years ago and would be about 10 mil a year to attain I would look hard into it.

Whilst C is high on our priority list, I'd rather draft O-line and go after a mid aged rushing linebacker in FA... we dont have the cap space for both.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

I could get behind signing him to a 1 or 2 year deal, and still drafting a center in the 2nd or 3rd round. Because he is over 30, anything more than that for Mack is too much in my opinion. But with a short-term deal, you get a seasoned all-pro center, and a prospect who can learn from the established veteran in front of him for a year or 2. Not sure how realistic any of that actually is, but it would be the ideal scenario.

[TheRustonRifle#7]

Giving a 30 year old Center, who is 1 season removed from a major injury, a salary commensurate to an elite LT isn't wise, imvho? 

[Somewhere ovr the Waynebow]

Why would you give that much money to a 30 year old player? It's all down hill from  here.  

[Steamboat_Shaun]

6 minutes ago, Somewhere ovr the Waynebow said:

Why would you give that much money to a 30 year old player? It's all down hill from  here.  

It really has backfired in the past, no doubt about that. $10mil/year is A LOT for a center, regardless of age.

[21isSuperman]

I'd rather pass on him and look to draft Nick Martin

[SDakColts]

To be honest with the C depth in the draft I think we should pass. The salary he will command IMO would not be worth it compared to spending the money in other areas preferably defensively.

[aReggie7]

While the Colts need to upgrade the center spot I don't want them to spend a lot of money on a 30 year old center to do so.

 

I do think the Colts need to try and find a decent interior offensive lineman in free agency though not Mack. Like others I would rather see them draft someone if the right guy was available.

 

I don't think the Colts have the money to comfortably spend on Mack and I am optimistic that the changes to the coaching staff will result in better play from the line as a whole even if no new players were brought in.

[Coltsfan1284]

6 minutes ago, ar88 said:

While the Colts need to upgrade the center spot I don't want them to spend a lot of money on a 30 year old center to do so.

 

I do think the Colts need to try and find a decent interior offensive lineman in free agency though not Mack. Like others I would rather see them draft someone if the right guy was available.

 

I don't think the Colts have the money to comfortably spend on Mack and I am optimistic that the changes to the coaching staff will result in better play from the line as a whole even if no new players were brought in.

I like this option as well I am simply saying to look at the situation I just want as many options as possible.  I would rather have a career center to team up with Luck during his prime years.  I too hope the coaching will fix some issues but still feel the talent isn't there now.

[BOTT]

36 minutes ago, TheRustonRifle#7 said:

Giving a 30 year old Center, who is 1 season removed from a major injury, a salary commensurate to an elite LT isn't wise, imvho? 

Wasn't it just a broken leg?  No biggie

[richard pallo]

If Mack opts out I wouldn't be surprised if Jacksonville signs him again.  They have a ton of cap space. That would leave Stefan W. available in FA.  I would rather draft Kelly or Martin after signing a guard or tackle in FA. , but I would be okay with signing a FA center.  I hope we target young FA's looking for their second contract that have shown they can stay on the field.

[TheRustonRifle#7]

1 hour ago, BOTT said:

Wasn't it just a broken leg?  No biggie

Broken left fibula.....even if it was a pinky strain, giving a 30 year old Center (31 in November) 10 mil a year isn't prudent, imvho?

[ReMeDy]

 

1 hour ago, Somewhere ovr the Waynebow said:

Why would you give that much money to a 30 year old player? It's all down hill from  here.  

 

Ryan Grigson is thinking, "The older the better! With age comes wisdom!"

[BOTT]

9 minutes ago, TheRustonRifle#7 said:

Broken left fibula.....even if it was a pinky strain, giving a 30 year old Center (31 in November) 10 mil a year isn't prudent, imvho?

I will believe 10m per when I see it.

[BOTT]

43 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

If Mack opts out I wouldn't be surprised if Jacksonville signs him again.  They have a ton of cap space. That would leave Stefan W. available in FA.  I would rather draft Kelly or Martin after signing a guard or tackle in FA. , but I would be okay with signing a FA center.  I hope we target young FA's looking for their second contract that have shown they can stay on the field.

Finally get out of Cleveland......and go the the jags.  I don't see it.

[TheRustonRifle#7]

Just now, BOTT said:

I will believe 10m per when I see it.

Hence my reply to the OP 

[BOTT]

2 hours ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

I could get behind signing him to a 1 or 2 year deal, and still drafting a center in the 2nd or 3rd round. Because he is over 30, anything more than that for Mack is too much in my opinion. But with a short-term deal, you get a seasoned all-pro center, and a prospect who can learn from the established veteran in front of him for a year or 2. Not sure how realistic any of that actually is, but it would be the ideal scenario.

It's not realistic.

[Cynjin]

1 hour ago, richard pallo said:

If Mack opts out I wouldn't be surprised if Jacksonville signs him again.  They have a ton of cap space. That would leave Stefan W. available in FA.  I would rather draft Kelly or Martin after signing a guard or tackle in FA. , but I would be okay with signing a FA center.  I hope we target young FA's looking for their second contract that have shown they can stay on the field.

 

I would think that if Mack was to opt out of his contract with Cleveland, it would be to sign with a team that has a chance to win a championship.  I do not believe that Jacksonville currently has that chance. 

[CR91]

if he would sign for like 2 year 15 mil (only 5 mil g so if he sucks we can save 10 mil in cap), sure, but other then that im not interested

[richard pallo]

If Mack wanted to play for a team that could challenge for a Super Bowl why did he sign with Jacksonville?  Could it be money?   I think so.  Maybe this time would be different but I doubt it. 

[BOTT]

43 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

If Mack wanted to play for a team that could challenge for a Super Bowl why did he sign with Jacksonville?  Could it be money?   I think so.  Maybe this time would be different but I doubt it. 

He can get money elsewhere.

[richard pallo]

Mack will look for the highest offer and show it to Cleveland.  If they match it he stays with Cleveland,  If they don't he is gone.   Pretty simple. 

[SteelDragon]

If he's opting out, he's passing on alot of potential money. He must be pretty confident he has plenty left in the tank.  Lineman can play into their mid-30's. It's certainly worth a look. 

[csmopar]

Sign him

[BOTT]

1 hour ago, richard pallo said:

Mack will look for the highest offer and show it to Cleveland.  If they match it he stays with Cleveland,  If they don't he is gone.   Pretty simple. 

It's pretty simple that he can get the same amount of money, or very close and not have to play for a cellar dweller.

 

The Raiders had tons of money the last couple years.....where are all the big FA signings?  Hell, the couldn't even retain their own in some cases.

[NewColtsFan]

 

Saw a story that says Mack wants out and wants to play for a winner -- I thought "Great,  the Colts have a good shot!"

 

Then the story says the buzz in the NFL is that Mack is going to become the highest paid center in football and will likely make $10 Mill per.    And I thought -- "We've got no shot, and I hope we're not offering it to him!"

 

$10 Mill per?      No thank you.    

[crazycolt1]

13 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Saw a story that says Mack wants out and wants to play for a winner -- I thought "Great,  the Colts have a good shot!"

 

Then the story says the buzz in the NFL is that Mack is going to become the highest paid center in football and will likely make $10 Mill per.    And I thought -- "We've got no shot, and I hope we're not offering it to him!"

 

$10 Mill per?      No thank you.    

If that is the kind of money it would take I would say no way. Especially if there is a center that can be drafted and earns a rookie contract I don't care if it's in the first round. IMO center is the most needed position we have on the roster. I know some don't think so but whatever. The center takes 100% of all offensive snaps, calls the offensive line set up and protects Luck. No other position has as many responsibilities. All of our QBs were killed right up the middle last season.

[Gavin]

39 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

If that is the kind of money it would take I would say no way. Especially if there is a center that can be drafted and earns a rookie contract I don't care if it's in the first round. IMO center is the most needed position we have on the roster. I know some don't think so but whatever. The center takes 100% of all offensive snaps, calls the offensive line set up and protects Luck. No other position has as many responsibilities. All of our QBs were killed right up the middle last season.

"calls the offensive line set up"

"No other position has as many responsibilities"

 

Both those statements are not always the case. There some cases where Guards make calls particularly in a Zone scheme

[NewColtsFan]

 

For whatever it's worth......

 

Here's some deep background from an anonymous Colts official in a Mike Wells story about the center position....    I found the info.....     revealing....

 

This is a time where it’s not good that Holmes and Harrison complement each other. I had one person in the organization tell me that Holmes is smarter, knows how to make the right calls and can control the line of scrimmage better than Harrison. But Harrison has all the physical tools to be a good starting center. The Colts wouldn’t have concerns at center if it were possible to combine Holmes and Harrison into one player.

That's not going to happen and that's why the search continues to find the perfect center to pair with Luck.

[SteelDragon]

Now therein lies the conundrum for Mr. Mack: Which winning team is going to pony up 10 mil/per? Teams like Oakland and Jacksonville have the cap room, but are they desirable destinations?

Mack has got to be absolutely intriguing to one,  Ryan Grigson. It instantly solves many problems at once.  First and foremost,  it protects The Franchise. Secondly,  it opens up holes for Frank Gore who just ran for the toughest 967 yards of his life! Mack certainly could be the linchpin to anchor a shoddy offensive line that had proven to be more turnstile than tenacious.

Let's face it,  Grigson hasn't exactly looked adept at signing offensive linemen or pass rushers in any capacity,   be it via draft, or free agency. These issues have got to be addressed. Wouldn't mind seeing Mack signed at around 8 mil/per. We get what we pay for

[2006Coltsbestever]

Sign him and Draft Pass Rushers

[2006Coltsbestever]

One thing too look at though he is 30 so he is no spring chicken (30 isn't old but not Football young either as in 25) but he looks like he could be Great for another 5 years at this point so we could go for it??

[RockThatBlue]

I wouldn't give him that much but I'd love it if we signed him. He's 100 times better than any center we currently have.

[COLTS449]

We could very well sign him. He's still got some good years in him. He's just 30. He can still be the best Center in the NFL for the next 3 years IMO. I expect us to go after him and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he winds up a Colt. With that said, if I had my choice I'd sign Osemele and draft Nick Martin or some other early round Center to come in and start day 1. We'll sign at least 1 impact offensive lineman this offseason.

[akcolt]

7 hours ago, Chucklez said:

Whilst C is high on our priority list, I'd rather draft O-line and go after a mid aged rushing linebacker in FA... we dont have the cap space for both.

 What mid age edge rusher are you looking at? C should be #1 on our priority list. It's the weakest spot on the team. It is getting our QB's hurt and killing our run game.We can't continue to get consistently beat at the point of attack.  

 

There is no way I would pay Mack that kind of money but I think Grig's might go after him . I have since the talk of him opting out. We have to sign a CB too before the draft.  We could get away with just those two signings. I'd prefer to add Jeff Allen too maybe a cheap RB like Powell but don't see it if Mack gets that kind of money. 

 

10M might land you both Davis and Wisneeski. Those are the guys I think we should target. Both are young about 26 and they are good  C's. A good C  would make this line look better immediatley. If we could get Allen our OL would look good. Allen could win either spot on the right side. 

 

I am a life long Notre Dame fan. I watch every game. I don't get the love for Martin. He hasn't looked the same since the knee injury. You could see it was bothering him again this year. Last year it was obvious. That would concern me. 

 

If we don't get Davis or Wiz I would take Boehm at C. I think he is the best value. He's on par with Kelly and Martin but could be had day 3. i think he's the strongest of the 3 with the best anchor and has pretty good feet.

 

Any of the 3 could come in and start day 1 but will Grig's let that happen?  He has been pretty open about rookie C's starting. I hope we sign Davis and Allen head into this draft focused on D. I will be very disappointed if we take a C in the 2nd if a guy like Billings is sitting there. 

 

[crazycolt1]

1 hour ago, Gavin said:

"calls the offensive line set up"

"No other position has as many responsibilities"

 

Both those statements are not always the case. There some cases where Guards make calls particularly in a Zone scheme

That would be the case if we had a great center. We as Colt fans watched Jeff Saturday and how the position needs to be played. Manning had a very quick release and that in itself helped all the O-line and made them seem better than they might have been in reality. Luck does not have a quick release so it's more important to give him more time. That will only happen with great center play.

[Colts_Fan12]

Id rather sign an elite young G in FA and draft a C 

[kansascolt]

I like Ryan Kelly. I want a center luck can grow with. That's just my opinion though. 

[HungarianColtsFan]

Hmmm...we did not succeed with ex-Browns players in near past. I'd rather draft players to O-line...or sign Dr. Frankenstein to mix Harrison and Holmes.