BrownIndian Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 CLEVELAND -- The Browns appear to have prioritized signing No. 1 pick Alex Mack over their other three unsigned draft picks. There has been an exchange of contract proposals between the Browns and Mack, sources say, while talks with second-round picks Brian Robiskie, Mohamed Massaquoi and David Veikune have not gone that far. A contract proposal for Veikune, the linebacker from University of Hawaii, has been rejected by the Browns, one source said. Proposals for receivers Robiskie and Massaquoi have not been exchanged, said another source. The Browns have set Friday as the reporting date for their rookies. Some agents feel the veteran report date of July 31 is a more viable target date. Mack, who was voted college football's top scholar-athlete last year, has expressed his desire to be signed by the July 24 report date. Mack does not want to fall behind in his quest to be the Browns' starting center as soon as possible. No first-round picks have been signed other than quarterbacks Matthew Stafford of Detroit and Mark Sanchez of the Jets. Mack was the 21st selection of the first round. The Browns' bottom four picks have all reached contract agreements. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anybody else worried about the delay in the contract situation ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisky fringo Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 what delay? they look ahead of schedule to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sez.EJ Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 The Browns traditionally wait until other teams set the market. Who knows with the new regime. Unfortunately there were zero centers taken in the first round last year. That would have made it a bit easier..but the first center taken was near the end of the 2nd round..pollack by the colts.. Last year there was a HUGE run on tackles in the first round.. so they likely will wait a few more days. Hopefully he has been studying the playbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timugen Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 The Browns traditionally wait until other teams set the market. Who knows with the new regime. Unfortunately there were zero centers taken in the first round last year. That would have made it a bit easier..but the first center taken was near the end of the 2nd round..pollack by the colts.. Last year there was a HUGE run on tackles in the first round.. so they likely will wait a few more days. Hopefully he has been studying the playbook. Aloy can correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I believe the only position that really commands any sort of premium in the 1st round is QB, so it really doesn't matter where other centers were drafted - the contracts pretty much fall in line with draft slot, with the signings (league-wide) generally happening in reverse order of draft slot. Most 1st round guys won't be signed until almost all the lower round picks have signed. Again, I may be mistaken, but that is my recollection of the way it usually plays out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WPB Dawg Fan Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 According to Grossi, today is the day!!! Cleveland Browns' first-round draft pick Alex Mack likely to sign; other picks not close by Tony Grossi, The Plain Dealer Thursday July 23, 2009, 11:04 PM Plain Dealer FileBrowns' first-round pick Alex Mack was scheduled to fly to Cleveland Friday. The Browns worked late Thursday trying to make a deal. The Browns talked deep into Thursday night to try to close a deal with No. 1 pick Alex Mack. An agreement with the center from the University of California is expected to be completed Friday. Mack was scheduled to fly to Cleveland from California Friday morning. By the end of the day, he should sign his first contract with the Browns. But the team fell far short of getting in all rookie draft picks by today's team-mandated reporting date. Negotiations with second-round picks Brian Robiskie, Mohamed Massaquoi and David Veikune are going nowhere, sources said. Robiskie is said to be the furthest from agreeing to terms. There has been little dialogue between Browns chief negotiator Dawn Aponte and Joel Segal, Robiskie's agent, sources said. A sticking point with some of the agents has been the Browns' rookie report date of today. It's the earliest in the NFL and was set, they believe, to force negotiations. Browns veterans are not scheduled to report until July 31, and that is being treated as the truer deadline to cut a deal. The first team practice is the next day. Nevertheless, Mack expressed the desire to his representatives to be signed by the rookie report date. "Alex just wanted to have that week to prepare himself for when the full squad of veterans gets in," said a source close to Mack. "He didn't want to start off his career three steps backward." It appeared a week ago that Veikune would be signed by today, but negotiations have since cooled. So, attendance at coach Eric Mangini's rookie camp will be limited to signed draft picks Kaluka Maiava, Don Carey, Coye Francies and James Davis, and nine undrafted free agents who survived Mangini's off-season program and stayed on the training camp roster. I love the fact that Mack himself wanted the deal done by today. That tells me he is a team player all the way and is serious about being the Browns STARTING CENTER come opening day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NW Ohio Brownie Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 This is great news, especially when you consider that just a couple first-rounders have been signed. We always talk about the importance of a rookie QB getting to camp on time, but let's not underestimate the importance of a center getting in there as well. Line calls, blocking schemes, etc. are where it all starts. The fact that Mack will miss just one day of instruction is encouraging. Listen to the bell, Fraley. It tolls for thee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisky fringo Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 I love the fact that Mack himself wanted the deal done by today. That tells me he is a team player all the way and is serious about being the Browns STARTING CENTER come opening day.yes, i agree. he's also displaying some qualities of a leader. who knows, this might be one of our team captains one day as well. again, a great first round pick for this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisky fringo Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 Listen to the bell, Fraley. It tolls for thee.i don't think Hank's just gonna roll over for Alex, this could be a good battle. pics don't always tell the whole truth but Hank looks bulked up and larger than Alex side by side. Alex getting in there quick could be an indication of Fraley's efforts to keep his job, and competition is definitely good for the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadWombat Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 Man, I'm so glad we got those nine UDFA's on board. Anyone got a list of their names? I wonder what the heck is taking Robo and the other draft picks, though. My guess is that their respective agents are trying to squeeze more money into the players contracts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencyguy Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 Man, I'm so glad we got those nine UDFA's on board. Anyone got a list of their names? I wonder what the heck is taking Robo and the other draft picks, though. My guess is that their respective agents are trying to squeeze more money into the players contracts. Yeah, those shysters these days. Give me an agent who tells the team just to give me what they think is fair any day. And then maybe counter-propose less, so management can have a little more to spend on themselves. I mean, they put so much in, they deserve a spa day every now and then. This line kind of stuck out to me: >>Proposals for receivers Robiskie and Massaquoi have not been exchanged, said another source.<< Not been exchanged? That kind of puts a damper on the alleged sense of urgency to get these guys in and start acclimating them to the system thing, no? I tend to agree with the agents paraphrased in Grossi's piece--the early date seems to be more of a negotiating ploy than something borne out of a desire to hit the ground running. And, assuming that the organization has any sense of PR, it doesn't hurt to go into negotiations with people thinking that the players are greedy (why should you make more than a vet?), ungrateful (hey, I'd play for free!) potential malcontents, as people almost always think that rookie holdouts are. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 The Patriots signed their second round picks to below market deals, which complicates things for everyone else. Mangini & Ko may be waiting to see how the market settles before finalizing the 2nd rounders' deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheJokersWILD Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 The Patriots signed their second round picks to below market deals, which complicates things for everyone else. Mangini & Ko may be waiting to see how the market settles before finalizing the 2nd rounders' deals. Damn those guys in New England! Grrrrrrr Drats. That Belechick is a slick one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisky fringo Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 wow, you pulled out drats. what'd the guy ever do to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sez.EJ Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 found this on mack Alex Mack, C, Cleveland Browns Friday 7/24, 7:18 PM CT First-round pick Alex Mack remains unsigned, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Our View: The Browns and Mack's rep are unable to agree on guaranteed money. Hopefully a deal will get done before the start of training camp. If it's just guarenteed money keeping them apart right now..means they are pretty close. I am guessing it will be done by monday if not sooner and he will be in camp when the vets come in.. I have heard nothing regarding mossaque and robiskie even in discussions yet.. I guess they see mack as a priority and that he can come in and start.. I think they feel somewhat comfortable that furrey can nail down the 2 spot to start the season and robo, can start out at the 3 spot or maybe even patten. However I still have a hard time seeing patten making the roster unless some of the young guys fall flat on thier face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OconRecon Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 BROWNS No. 1 pick Mack in town, but he's still not signed Saturday, July 25, 2009 Tony Grossi Plain Dealer Reporter The Browns announced the signing of a rookie draft pick on Friday, but it wasn't the one they had hoped for. They failed to complete a deal with No. 1 pick Alex Mack, who had flown to Cleveland in expectation of signing his first Browns contract. When Mack boarded a plane in California early Friday morning, the parameters of his deal were pretty much set. But details couldn't be ironed out to seal the deal. One of the hang-ups is believed to be the amount of guaranteed money. Mack spent the day in a hotel while other rookies under contract joined coach Eric Mangini for the first day of rookie orientation. Later in the day, the Browns officially announced the signing of fourth-round pick Kaluka Maiava, a linebacker out of Southern Cal. Maiava's contract agreement had been widely reported last week. Negotiations with second-round picks Brian Robiskie, Mohamed Massaquoi and David Veikune have not produced any positive movement, sources said. While Mangini set Friday as his rookie report date, most of the agents of the unsigned players believe July 31 - the report date for Browns veterans - is a more realistic target date. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: tgrossi@plaind.com, 216-999-4670 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan in Florida Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 The answer is: NOW...he's signed! See thread for INFO: http://thebrownsboard.com/forums/index.php...amp;#entry86720 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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