BEREA, Ohio -- John Greco described Alex Mack's rehab from a fractured ankle that ended his 2014 season this way.

“He’s kind of shattered expectations, as you would expect with a guy like that,” Greco said Tuesday at the Cleveland Browns offseason practice. “He’s a pro and he’s going to come back stronger and better than ever, that’s for sure.”

A few feet away, Mack was addressing the general media for the first time since his injury (he spoke with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler in March). Mack did not want to talk about his injury though, or about the reality that will loom over the 2015 Browns season: Mack's contract allows him to become a free agent after the season.

“It’s Alex’s own personal stuff,” Greco said. “Obviously I love being his teammate and having him here. I hope we’re together, but everyone’s aware of how things will work. Ultimately it’s up to him.”

Mack said he has not made up his mind on whether to opt out of the contract with three years left.

“Let’s play the games,” he said. “Let’s see how the season goes. I’m really not interested in talking about that until after the season.”

Mack is healthy, though. Were this training camp he would line up at center and practice.

But the team will be conservative in what it asks him to do during offseason work in an effort to keep him from getting into a collision or tangled up in a pile. In team drills during the practice session open to the media, Greco slid from right guard to center. First-round pick Cameron Erving played right guard while Mack watched.

When Mack was injured Oct. 12 in a win over Pittsburgh the team’s offense was flying high. It struggled after. The Browns averaged 146 yards per game rushing with Mack; without him the total was 90.5 yards per game.

Mack attributes the dropoff to forces of NFL nature. He said that defenses that see a strong run game will start to stack the box to take the run away, and the Browns had been running the ball well.

That might have happened, but the Browns never found a rhythm offensively after Mack’s injury.

Which is why his contract will be in the back of most people’s minds. Mack earned the right to opt out of his deal because the Browns decided to give Mack the transition tag in 2014.

That gave Mack the right to sign a deal elsewhere, but gave the Browns the right to match it. He signed a five-year, $42 million deal with Jacksonville, but the Jaguars included the opt-out clause hoping it would keep the Browns from matching.

It didn’t.

But now the Browns face losing a Pro Bowl center -- though the team did take steps to minimize the loss by drafting Erving 19th overall.

There is financial incentive for Mack to stay. He would earn $8 million fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster on April 5, 2016, and would earn $16 million in 2017 and ’18 -- though $2 million each year is tied up in roster bonuses.

What has to happen to keep him a Brown?

“You want to come out here, play games, play well and win games,” he said.

He admitted the constant struggles since he joined the Browns in 2009 affect him. The Browns have not had a winning season in his tenure and have gone 30-66.

“No one likes losing,” he said.

The Browns actually could lose two-fifths of their offensive line, a team strength. Tackle Mitchell Schwartz's rookie deal expires after this season, so he could be a free agent as well.

Schwartz admitted it’s a cliche, but he said he will focus on being as good as he can be in 2015.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “You never really know.”