49ers General Manager John Lynch said last month that Alex Mack was training like he is planning to play a 14th NFL season, adding “all signs are him coming back and him being part of us.” But the center remains undecided, Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The 49ers surely would like an answer before the draft, which is nine days from now. The team has no obvious replacement on its roster for Mack, who made his seventh Pro Bowl last season. They also have no first-round draft pick, with their first choice at No. 61 overall.
Daniel Brunskill and Jake Brendel are the only other players on the roster who have played center in the NFL.
Last year, Mack made his decision in mid-March, signing a three-year deal with the 49ers that has no guaranteed money in the final two seasons.
Mack started all 17 of San Francisco’s regular-season games and all three of their playoff matchups in 2021. The 21st overall pick of the 2009 draft has started 196 games in seven years with Cleveland, five years with Atlanta and one year with San Francisco.