5 bargain deals SF 49ers can make before trade deadline

No. 3: SF 49ers reunite Falcons’ Alex Mack with Kyle Shanahan

Sticking with the Falcons theme here again, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the SF 49ers to continue looking at purging Atlanta’s likely makeover between now and 2021.

And part of that deal would involve reuniting Kyle Shanahan with one of his former companions from that record-setting Falcons offense back when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator there in 2016, center Alex Mack.

Mack, 35 years old, is not a long-term solution. And he’s also scheduled to hit free agency in 2021, making a would-be deadline deal one of the rental variety, at worst. But San Francisco’s offensive line has been a considerable weakness for Shanahan’s offense this season, and the center position has been particularly hard hit by injuries. The Niners are still without their highly paid starter, Weston Richburg, as he recovers from a 2019 knee injury. Backup center Ben Garland (calf) is also shelved on injured reserve, leaving a hardly known Hroniss Grasu as the team’s starting option halfway through the year.

One could argue Mack is an upgrade over all three of those players at this stage in his career.

Landing Mack would help solidify the SF 49ers O-line to a great degree, and there would be an option to move on from Richburg in 2021, too.

Re-signing Mack on a team-friendly deal probably wouldn’t be out of the question either, making this move one of the smarter ones San Francisco could try executing.