The 49ers might have a new vacancy on their hands.
Starting center Alex Mack has not made it known if he will play this upcoming season. He very well could be mulling retirement right now. Returning to the 49ers in 2022 is still unclear with Mack. He hasn’t made anything declarative about his career, so the 49ers are in limbo with him right now.
“We've been in discussions with Alex,” said John Lynch “communicating with him and I think I would say, the common theme here today, I'm not going to speak for Alex on that. I think at the appropriate time, Alex will comment on that.”
It sounds like Lynch has an idea which way Mack is leaning toward. Perhaps he even knows Mack’s decision already. Remember, the 49ers knew of Joe Staley retiring well in advance to the draft. Could this be happening again with Mack this time?
It’s possible. I would suspect that Mack is going to, if not already made it clear to the 49ers that he’s going to retire. At least, that’s my takeaway from when Lynch spoke Monday in regards to Mack at his pre-draft presser.
Losing Mack will make the 49ers' offensive line questionable at best. The only absolute on the line is Trent Williams. Everywhere else along the line is a mystery. Mike McGlinchey is coming off of a torn quad, so he is a mystery as to how he will respond coming back. Daniel Brunskill is decent, but not the ideal anchor at right guard. Meanwhile, left guard is a toss up with Laken Tomlinson gone. Aaron Banks is set to compete for that spot, but having a guy who didn't play last year start there is risky.
Offensive line is the clear-cut main concern with the 49ers.
And with Trey Lance presumably the starter in 2022, he doesn't have the optimal offensive line for his debut season. The 49ers kind of need Mack to return. Having a hole at center hurts the Niners' offense. Kyle Shanahan always has thrived offensively with a solid center and it would be tough to throw a rookie in from the jump. Drafting a center was always going to be in the works, but now it becomes a pressing need. And that is something that Lynch views as doable for a rookie to step in and start.
"It's a tough position to come in and play right away. You'd be going from one extreme, one of the brighter players in terms of football and communication in Alex Mack. And experienced, just got a lot of experience to a young player, but sure. That happens a lot. And one thing about our system, I don't think there's as much on the center in terms of making every protection call and things of that nature as a lot of systems."
I wouldn't be shocked if the 49ers traded up to get a center. They have nine picks in this draft and not all of those picks will generate players that make the team. Center is a position that absolutely needs to be figured out as soon as possible. Expect that solution to come in the draft regardless of Mack's decision to return.
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