Schefter: Browns Would Match Jaguars' Offer Sheet Quickly

Last night, we discussed the rumored terms of the offer sheet that the Jacksonville Jaguars made to Cleveland Browns C Alex Mack. Several reports indicated that Mack will sign the offer sheet on Thursday or Friday, giving the Browns five business days to match the offer. As we speculated, though, ESPN's Adam Schefter is now saying that the Browns would match the Jaguars' offer without hesitation:

Once it is signed, Browns figure to match Jacksonville's five-year offer sheet to C Alex Mack "in no time at all", per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 10, 2014

If the scenario unfolds as speculated right now, it would really be a win-win for both the Browns and Mack. The Jaguars wouldn't have really lost anything, although they would have wasted a couple of draft-scouting days on Mack.

Cleveland would win because they'd get at least two years of Mack at pretty much the same rate they were willing to go this year. If they show improvement in the standings, they might influence Mack to stay long-term. Mack wins because he gets both financial security, and the option to leave after two years if he doesn't like the way the ship is steering.

Now, the question is, "is there a chance that Mack is playing the Jaguars?" In other words, is he leading the Jaguars on, just to kind of get a feel through channels as to whether or not the Browns would match such an offer? We shall see.