Ex-Cal Star Alex Mack Calls Possibility of Joining 49ers 'Enticing'
Will former Cal standout Alex Mack join the 49ers for 2021? Will he sign with another team? Will he retire?
Mack, a six-time Pro Bowl selection as a center who played for the Golden Bears from 2004 through 2008, is an unrestricted free agent after his five-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons expired at the end of the 2020 season.
He started the first 14 games of the 2020 but missed the last two with a concussion and issues related to COVID-19. His last game with the Falcons was on December 20, and every recent report out of Atlanta regarding Mack's future says there is virtually no chance the Falcons will re-sign Mack, who is 35 years old.
Mack said before the season began that he would consider retiring after the 2020 season:
"Going into Year 12, I feel pretty good and excited for it, ready to take it on,'' Mack told ESPN in a story posted last May. "I'll play the year out, see how I feel -- how my body works and how much I'm enjoying it -- then make the decision at the end of year if I want to keep going or what. The future is unknown, and that's the way I'm looking at it. Every year is one year at a time: keep going, prepare, and play, and do everything as best as I can. Then I'll see where I'm at.''
Mack still might retire, but his comments since the end of the season suggest he plans to keep playing for a while, offering no hints that he plans to leave the game now.
"We’ll see what teams are interested and what they have to offer and try to make a decision from there," Mack told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area last week.
That discussion focused on Mack's possible interest in signing with the 49ers, who need an upgrade at the center position.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan was the Browns' offensive coordinator in 2014, when Mack played for Cleveland, and Shanahan was the Falcons' offensive coordinator in 2016, which was Mack's first season in Atlanta. Mack obviously is familiar with Shanahan and called the possibility of playing under Shanahan again "enticing."
“Kyle is an incredible coach,” Mack told NBC Sports on Friday. “He’s an incredible coach, great person, strong motivator and runs an offense that is something that I’d know really well and that I performed very well in.
“Yeah, that said, they [the 49ers] are a very enticing thing."
Mack realized he couldn't say much more than that, but a number of media outlets have picked up those comments and run with them, suggesting Mack's next destination might be San Francisco.
Judge for yourself in the video below, with Mack's comments about his free agency beginning about 3:30 into the video:
Mack was born in Los Angeles and went to high school in Santa Barbara before attending Cal, so he is a product of California.
And there is little doubt the 49ers could use a proven center like Mack.
Maverick Pallack of the "All 49ers" website reported last week that Mack would be the "ideal signing."
Atlanta center Alex Mack would be the ideal signing. He played under Kyle Shanahan for two seasons, knows the system, would be a veteran leader to a line that could lose Trent Williams and might be had for under $6 million due to age (35 years old).
Mack made about $10 million in 2020, and it's unclear whether he would be willing to take a sizable pay cut for his final few years in the league.
Mack has started 184 NFL games, including playoffs, and was on the Falcons team that went to the Super Bowl following the 2016 season -- the game in which the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead with eight minutes left in the third quarter, losing in overtime to the Patriots.
You can bet Mack will make a wise decision. As a Cal senior he was the recipient of the 2008 Draddy Trophy as college football's top scholar-athlete, an award that includes a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship.
And Mack can provide some entertainment when he is wearing a microphone during a game:
Cover photo of Alex Mack is a Pool Photo, USA TODAY Sports
Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport
