Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowl center Alex Mack is expected to play in Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots despite a fracture in his left fibula.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was told by a source that if this were the regular season, Mack could miss six to eight weeks, and the fact that he is playing Sunday is a major concern among the Falcons’ staff.
The 31-year-old Mack, who was a limited participant in practice all week, suffered the injury in the NFC Championship Game two weeks ago.
The Falcons’ staff is confident Mack can handle pass blocking but is uncertain whether he will be effective on downfield blocks or whether his leg will hold up, according to Schefter.
“Getting him a chance to see him practice at full speed on Wednesday, Thursday was really important for me,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn told ESPN’s Ed Werder on Saturday. “I wanted to make sure he could go do his thing and just really fly and haul. He’s such a unique player because of the quickness he plays with, so I was pleased to see that. We held him the week prior to heal and get right. I was pleased he got the work in. It was totally by design. We were going to give him half his normal reps on Wednesday and Thursday and let him do the normal Friday, and that’s how we laid out the week for him. It went exactly like we thought.”
Mack will reportedly receive a pain-killing injection to help him get through the game. Ben Garland is his backup.
“This game, because of multiple fronts by New England, requires a lot of prep work by the center,” Quinn told ESPN. “Identifying this look, this front, this player’s positioning, (Mack and Garland) spend a lot of time in the film room together normally … and I would say it’s been even more these two weeks because this opponent requires even more.”
Mack was elected to his fourth Pro Bowl this season. In 2014, he suffered a broken fibula and missed the remaining 11 games of the season — the only season in his career that he missed a start.
NFL Network’s Tiffany Blackmon reported Mack told the team, “I’m playing. Period,” in regards to his status for Sunday.