Falcons center Alex Mack, who is weighing his free-agency options, is the 76th ranked free agent on ProFootballTalk.com’s list of the top 100 free agents released Tuesday.
Free agency is set to start March 17.
Safety Ricardo Allen, defensive end Allen Bailey, guard James Carpenter and safety Keanu Neal did not crack the list.
Allen, Carpenter and Bailey were released as salary-cap casualties.
Neal, who had a base salary of $6.4 million last season, was not tagged and will hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent when his rookie contract expires March 17.
The hard-hitting Neal was drafted 17th overall in the 2016 NFL draft.
Mack, who helped the Falcons reach Super Bowl LI, plans to play in the 2021 season, but will weigh all options, according to a personal familiar with the situation.
Mack had a rough end to the 2020 season. He missed the 15th game with a concussion and was on the reserve/COVID-19 list for the final game of the season.
Mack signed a five-year, $45 million contract in 2016. He started every game that season and played in the Super Bowl with a broken fibula.
The Falcons’ new administration is evaluating the roster, but the team is in a bad salary-cap situation. The previous regime drafted former Temple center Matt Hennessy in the third round last season.
Mack, one of the top centers in the NFL, has played 12 seasons and was selected to six Pro Bowls and named All-Pro three times.
Mack played two seasons with San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan. They were together in Cleveland (2015) and with the Falcons (2016).
“Kyle is an incredible coach,” Mack said via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area recently. “He’s an incredible coach, great person, strong motivator and runs an offense that is something that I’d know really well and that I performed very well in.”
Weston Richburg of the 49ers didn’t make it back after complications from knee surgery and former Falcon Ben Garland started five games at center and ex-Falcons practice-squad player Daniel Brunskill ended the season as the starting center.
Mack, who played at California, was the 21st pick of the 2009 NFL draft by the Browns. He has started all 131 games he’s played in. He played 78 games with the Falcons. He was a team captain in 2019 and 2020.
Going into last season, Mack gave his thoughts on continuing to play.
“I’m taking it year-by-year, now,” Mack said. “I know my goal when I showed up in the league was (to play) 10 years. I thought that was a really good, lengthy career. From here on out, I want to do the best I can to make sure I play at the highest level. Play one year at a time. I think I’ve got a lot of juice in the tank.”
Here’s a look at the Falcons’ list of unrestricted free agents:
Cornerback Darqueze Dennard, running back Todd Gurley, defensive end Charles Harris, running back Brian Hill, free safety Damontae Kazee, Mack, offensive lineman Justin McCray, defensive end Steven Means, Neal, free safety Sharrod Neasman, linebacker LaRoy Reynolds, linebacker Edmond Robinson, quarterback Matt Schaub (retired), tight end Luke Stocker, wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, offensive tackle John Wetzel and cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson.
A player with three accrued years (at least six games) of service is a restricted free agent.
The team can place three levels of tenders on these players for a non-guaranteed one-year deal. Other teams can sign to an offer sheet, with the current team have a chance to match or they can allow them to leave and receiver draft compensation based on the tender level.
Here are the Falcons’ RFAs: Matt Gono and Brandon Powell.
Exclusive-rights free agents have three or fewer accrued seasons and can negotiate only with their current team ahead of the new year. If they are not tendered a contract, they become unrestricted free agents:
Here are the Falcons’ ERFAs: Christian Blake, Greg Dortch, Jaeden Graham, Tyler Hall, Younghoe Koo and Jacob Tuioti-Mariner.
Falcons’ 2021 draft position: Here are the picks in D. Led’s Mock Draft 2.0: Top five picks
1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence (QB, Clemson)
2. New York Jets: Justin Fields, (QB, Ohio State)
3. Miami Dolphins: Ja’Marr Chase (WR, LSU)
4. Falcons: Kyle Pitts (TE, Florida)
5. Cincinnati Bengals: Penei Sewell, (OT, Oregon)
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