49ers eager to see what Mack has left at age 35
On Monday, three days before the NFL was set to open its first 17-game regular season, 49ers center Alex Mack was asked for his thoughts on the extra week.
“It’s good for the business of football,” Mack said. “It’s just tough as a player to have another game.”
It could be particularly rugged for a player such as Mack, 35, a 12-year veteran who hasn’t missed a game in 10 seasons during his 179start career. Mack considered the physical toll of a decade-plus in the NFL trenches in the offseason and determined he wanted to play at least one more year. He signed a three-year,
$14.85 million contract with the 49ers in March, but there’s no guarantee he’ll play beyond this season. It’s notable that the final two years of his deal include no guaranteed money.
“I’m taking it year by year,” Mack said when asked about 2022. “We’ll see what happens. I think the main thing is to take each week as it comes and give it everything you can.”
The 49ers are hoping Mack, a Cal alum who was the No. 21 pick in 2009, has plenty left to give. Mack, a member of the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 2010s, was voted to the last of his six Pro Bowls in 2018. The 49ers signed Mack during an offseason in which they tried to strengthen their interior offensive line.
Mack was sturdy in trainingcamp practices, but the early returns on the 49ers’ improvement plan are mixed: They also used a second-round pick on Notre Dame guard Aaron Banks, but the rookie failed to beat out incumbent right guard Daniel Brunskill and will open the season on the bench.
Mack is no longer in his prime, but what he has lost could be offset at least partly by his comfort in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s outside-zone blocking scheme. Mack and Shanahan (then an offensive coordinator) were together both with the Browns (2014) and Falcons (2016). Mack’s 179 career games are 45 more than left tackle Trent Williams, who has played the second-most games among the 49ers’ position players.
“It’s great to have veteran presence like that because he’s seen it all,” Brunskill said.
Mack also has heard it all. On Monday, he was asked about one of the more amusing topics of training camp: his lower-back sweat.
Mack perspired so profusely during practices that he began tucking a large towel into the back of his uniform to prevent additional sweat-inspired bobbled quarterback-center exchanges. Mack was not surprised by the unusual line of questioning.
“That is a (much-written) story and I’m sure we can find some other articles,” Mack said, smiling. “It’s hot. I don’t know what you want. It’s hot. You’re working hard.”
Mack is now ready to embark on what could be his hardest year, given his age and expanded regular season. His 13th season opener — possibly his last — will come Sunday when the 49ers visit Detroit.
“It’s going to be a grind,” Mack said. “The season’s tough and we’ve added a game. We definitely have some work ahead of us, for sure.”