Jacksonville Jaguars Meet With Top Free Agent Center Alex Mack

First reported and confirmed by Big Cat Country, the Jacksonville Jaguars have met with the top free agent center Alex Mack.

The Cleveland Browns placed the transition tag on Alex Mack at the start of free agency, which clearly has tempered the free agent market for Mack. The transition tag guarantees Mack about $10 million dollars in 2014, but he is still free to negotiate with any team on a new contract. The catch is the Browns can just go ahead and match whatever contract Mack signs, effectively getting a team to do the contract negotiations for them.

While the Jaguars would have to front-load the contract considerably, it’s within the realm of possibility that the Browns would pass on matching the contract. If this pans out, it would be a huge addition to the offense and by far the biggest move David Caldwell has made since taking over as general manager. This would immediately fill a gaping hole on the roster, and it gives the front office even more freedom in the 2014 NFL Draft. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union has already started to throw out some theories about what it could mean if the Jaguars are able to steal away Mack.

We can glean a lot out of this move, but I think above all else it means the Jaguars think Mack is a long-term solution at center, and one they can afford. We can discuss what this means in terms of the draft if Caldwell can somehow conjure up a contract that gets Mack in black and teal.

-Daniel Lago

Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89