CLEVELAND -- The Browns arent letting Alex Mack walk away freely. The team locked the free agent Pro Bowl centre into a one-year, $10.039 million contract on Monday by designating him as their transition player. By using the transition tag instead of the franchise tag, Cleveland will have five days to match any offer to Mack made by other teams when free agency opens on March 11. If the Browns had used their franchise tag, Mack would have made $11.654 million next season. In the meantime, the Browns are expected to try and sign Mack to a long-term contract. The 6-foot-4, 311-pounder has been one of Clevelands best and most dependable players since the Browns drafted him in the first round in 2009. He has not missed one offensive play in five years, a run of 4,998 consecutive snaps. Mack may want to play elsewhere. He could draw serious interest as a free agent and he may be dismayed with the teams direction following another coaching change and front-office purge this winter. The Browns have gone just 23-57 since Mack arrived. The decision to make Mack their transition player also means Pro Bowl safety T.J. Ward is now a free agent. Ward had a solid 2013 season. He started all 16 games and made a career-high 129 tackles with two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. With Ward seemingly no longer in their plans, the Browns could pursue Buffalo free safety Jairus Byrd, who was not tagged by the Bills. A three-time Pro Bowler, Byrd could be reunited in Cleveland with new Browns coach Mike Pettine, who spent last season as Buffalos defensive co-ordinator. Byrd turned down a multiyear offer from the Bills. He played under a one-year, $6.9 million franchise tag last year. The Browns have over $55 million in salary-cap room. Rashaan Gaulden Panthers Jersey . The 23-year-old Poland international is back as first choice at Arsenal after losing his regular spot in the team on occasions over the last three seasons. 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Moore Jersey .While Rosberg is coming off a strong victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton is dwelling on a mistake that ended his streak of five consecutive wins and kept him from increasing his advantage.TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger gathered for the latest installment of Insider Trading on Tuesday and the topics discussed were Steven Stamkos recovery from a broken leg, the San Jose Sharks trying to re-sign their "top three," a management shuffle in Philadelphia, USAs goalie situation ahead of the Olympics, and trade talk. Whats the latest on Steven Stamkos three weeks after have surgery on his broken leg? Darren Dreger: Hes ahead of schedule. Hes targeting February 6 against the Tornoto Maple Leafs as his expected date of return. Hes working out on a daily basis, riding a bike, and core training. Hes going to work out exclusively with Gary Roberts over the Christmas break and then hell kick it in to high gear and do two-a-day training in January. Pierre LeBrun: And Team Canada is going to use that extra week they got from the IIHF and will announce their roster on January 7. Meanwhile, the Team Canada brain trust is going to meet before the Board of Governors meeting in California, take in a Kings game and fine tune their player list this weekend. What is on the front burner of trade talk? Bob McKenzie: Florida Panthers defenceman Dmitri Kulikov has been available for most of this year but the Panthers are kicking it up, very aggressively shopping him, and trying to get an auction going for a 23-year-old defenceman who was picked 14th overall in the 2008 draft. Kulikov though has two knocks against him. One, he hasnt been developing and playing particularly well for Florida and two, hes a restricted free agent at the end of the year and there are fears that because he has the KHL option as a Russian, he might go back there instead of playing in the NHL. Dreger: The New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, and Edmonton Oilers are believed to be among the most active teams in trade discussions. The Islanders are looking for depth in goal and a defenceman. The Canucks had some interest in Martin Erat out of Washington and while thats not a fit they still want a top six forward. And its Groundhog Day in Edmonton where Craig MacTavish continues to search for a defenceman. McKenzie: Carolina is a hot spot right now. General manager Jim Rutherford is one of the most patient GMs in the NHL but that patience is definitely wearing thin. Theres no coaching change planned right now; head coach Kirk Mullers not in imminent danger. But another week or two of underachhieving the way they have been and all bets are off.dddddddddddd Off the ice, on the ice, Rutherford is getting extremely frustrated the way his team is looking. And anything is possible if this team keeps taking a nose dive. LeBrun: Another team to keep an eye on is the Colorado Avalanche. Theyve been making calls offering up winger Jamie McGinn. Theyd like to get a defenceman or a veteran checking forward in return. McGinns name is being offered to a couple teams around the league right now. The Board of Governors Meeting next week could have some significance for the San Jose Sharks. LeBrun: Its significant for a lot of teams but really for San Jose. They are trying to re-sign their big three: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Dan Boyle. All are UFAs at the end of the year; there have been ongoing discussions with all three with numbers being exchanged with Boyles camp and Thorntons camp. Not so much with Marleau because he hasnt hired an agent yet after the passing of Don Baizley. But once they get that cap number next week it gives Doug Wilson a chance to go back to all three camps and have a number for all three. McKenzie: David Legwand of the Nashville Predators is not Thornton, but he is an effective member of the Predators and the first person ever taken by them in the entry draft many years ago. Hes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and is looking for a new deal but there have been no negotiations thus far. Hes a guy that wants to get locked up in Nashville but nothings happened thus far. Has there been a shuffle in senior management in Philadelphia? Dreger: Paul Holmgren will now report directly to Ed Snider and that may have its complications for anybody that knows how volatile Snider can be. Peter Luukko stepped down as President and COO of Comcast so that complicates things because he did a lot of work on the hockey side including buffering between Snider and Holmgren. Whats going in with the goalie rankings for the US Olympic hockey team? LeBrun: The current ranking right now has Jonathan Quick and Ryan Miller 1-2 one way or the other which has yet to be determined. The battle for the third spot is between Jimmy Howard and Cory Schneider. No Ben Bishop in that top four; in fact the guy they have listed fifth is Tim Thomas. But at this point it looks like Howard or Schneider for that third spot behind Quick and Miller. China Jerseys Cheap Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2020 Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Wholesale NFL White Jerseys ' ' '