As the free-agent negotiation period opened Monday, various reports surfaced about the Falcons being very interested in Cleveland center Alex Mack.
Indeed, the Falcons view Mack as the ideal fit for the scheme. Remember, Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan spent a season with Mack as the Browns offensive coordinator, although Mack played in just five games in 2014 due to a broken fibula.
The Falcons sorely need stability at the center position after giving up on Joe Hawley due to his knee injury and not finding a capable replacement in Mike Person or James Stone.
But are the Falcons prepared to make Mack, who opted out of the final three years of his deal, the league's highest-paid center at possibly $10 million per year? We'll see.
The Falcons' adjusted salary cap number is $158,801,871 based on $3,905,771 in cap carryover from last year. They are expected to enter the new league year on Wednesday with $23.91 million in cap space.
The NFL's highest paid center right now (based on average per year) is Miami's Mike Pouncey at $8.95 million per year. Pouncey, with a base salary of $9 million in 2016, will count $10,025,000 against the cap this upcoming season.
Mack originally signed a five-year, $42 million offer sheet from Jacksonville in 2014 that included $18 million guaranteed in the first two years, an offer the Browns matched. He would have entered 2016 with an $8 million base salary and $8 million cap number.
Mack, 30, is a three-time Pro Bowler and former first-round draft pick out of Cal. At 6-4 and 311 pounds, he has more size to offer up front in order to protect Matt Ryan.
As things currently stand, left guard Andy Levitre carries the highest 2016 cap number for a Falcons offensive linemen at $5,375,000, followed by left tackle Jake Matthews at $4,480,773.
