6time Pro Bowl center Mack joins 49ers in new/old system
Near the end of Alex Mack’s nineminute Zoom meeting with reporters Thursday, the sixtime Pro Bowl center said it was “exciting” to be with the 49ers and he was “fired up” about the next opportunity in his 12year career.
Then he paused: “You should have a count of how many times I’ve said that.”
For the record, Mack said “excited” twice, “exciting” once and there were two instances of “fired up.”
Mack clearly doesn’t figure to be secondguessing his decision to join
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan for a third time, following their stints in Cleveland (2014) and Atlanta (2016) when Shanahan was his offensive coordinator.
Mack, 35, officially signed a threeyear, $14.85 million contract Thursday with $5.1 million guaranteed. It’s a lowrisk deal for the 49ers. There is no guaranteed money in the final two years and the 49ers will assume a modest deadcap charge of $2.45 million if Mack is released after the 2021 season, according to OverTheCap.com.
Money, of course, was part of Mack’s calculation as a free agent. But the Cal alum was also, well, excited to return to the Bay Area and play in Shanahan’s system.
“I’ve done these plays,” Mack said. “I know how it fits together. I enjoy running the ball. It’s a system that I know I do well in. … It’s something I’m comfortable with. I’m good at it. I’m confident in it. And I know I can do it well.”
Mack has played well enough in a career spent with the Browns (200915) and Falcons (201620) that he’ll become a Hall of Fame candidate. He has earned six Pro Bowl selections and is a member of the NFL’s AllDecade Team of the 2010s.
However, he’s hasn’t been voted to the Pro Bowl since 2018. And, based on the Pro Football Focus grading system, he has been declining in recent seasons. Mack, who said he’s in the oneseasonatatime point in his career, was asked if PFF’s grades are an accurate reflec
tion of his trajectory.
“I’m an older player,” he said. “There’s no denying that. But I do feel like I play well. I think my film has been good. I’ve felt good doing it. I think I can be great in this system. … I know I can help contribute on this team. I know I can still play this game. I know I can be a good player.”
Mack, who has started 94 of his past 96 games and played in all 16 games in 10 of 12 seasons, figures to bring stability to the position. The 49ers used three different starting centers last season, when firststringer Weston Richburg was sidelined after shoulder surgery.
With Richburg expected to retire after undergoing four surgeries since the end of the 2018 season, the 49ers were expected to target Mack, given his connection to Shanahan.
Mack said he spoke with a few other teams, but the 49ers “made the most sense.”
Mack’s agent had been negotiating with the 49ers before Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams’ sixyear, $138.06 million extension was announced early Wednesday morning. In the celebratory aftermath, Williams tagged Mack in an Instagram post, a signal that Mack’s signing was imminent.
In other words, Mack wasn’t the only one who was excited.
“I woke up much later than 4 a.m.,” Mack said, “and my phone was exploding.”
QB update: Freeagent quarterback Joe Flacco left the Bay Area on Thursday night without a contract after his visit with the 49ers, his agent said. Flacco and the 49ers were expected to continue discussions Friday. His agent has said Flacco is considering a “couple of other teams.”