If the Cleveland Browns are going to get involved in the trade deadline as they sit with two wins on the season, it will not be with Alex Mack. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Browns were preparing to shop both Mack and Joe Thomas in order to gain some draft picks to continue to rebuild. After catching wind that he might be sent packing at the trade deadline, Mack was not happy.
The center made it very clear in a statement released prior to the Tuesday trade deadline, he is staying in Cleveland. Mack is easily one of the best assets the Browns have and sitting at 2-6 means they could be ready to waive the white flag and call it a season. If that is the case, it will not involve dealing the center who has a no-trade clause in his contract that he is not getting rid of.
"I have a 'no-trade' clause in my contract. It was included for good reason. I'm not leaving my teammates, coaches and Browns fans while there is work this season to be finished," Mack wrote, via NFL.com.
According to ESPN.com, the Denver Broncos offered a first-round draft pick for Thomas, but no move has been made as the team recently dealt for Vernon Davis. For now, it appears the Browns will not be making any moves at the deadline and instead will try to improve with what they have. According to head coach Mike Pettine, that must involve utilizing Duke Johnson more than they have since the rookie's arrival.
"Duke is a guy who has showed he can do some damage with the football," Pettine said, via the Plain Dealer. "I think that is on us as a staff to find more creative ways to get him the football, whether that is in the run game or whether that's in the pass game. He is showing to be the guy we thought he was."
The Browns are prepared to start Josh McCown at the quarterback spot despite his injured shoulder. The quarterback made it clear that he trusts his team and coaches to make the right calls in terms of playing him. The Browns do have Johnny Manziel, but it is clear they do not intend on playing him if they do not have to. For Pettine, he wants McCown throwing the ball less and handing it off more. Despite having Johnson, Isaiah Crowell and Robert Turbin on the roster, the Browns are averaging just 84.0 rushing yards per game. That is simply not enough and Pettine knows it.
"We cannot be one-dimensional," Pettine said. "If we are more of a pass team than a run team so be it, but to me, you can't live at an extreme end of either spectrum."