Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowl center Alex Mack , the NFL’s top free-agent acquisition this past season, will play Super Bowl LI with a fracture in his left fibula that he suffered in the NFC Championship Game, according to sources.
Mack immediately will go down in Super Bowl lore, along with former Rams defensive end Jack Youngblood, who played in Super Bowl XIV with a broken fibula, Charles Woodson, who played in Super Bowl XXVII after having surgery for a crack in his right fibula a month earlier and Terrell Owens who played in Super Bowl XXXIX with a fractured fibula injury and torn ligament in his right ankle that he suffered seven weeks before the game.
One source said that if this were the regular season, Mack could miss six to eight weeks, but he will be out there Sunday, with concern running high among Atlanta officials.
The Falcons are confident Mack will hold up in pass-blocking, but they are uncertain if he will be effective on downfield blocks, or if his leg will hold up.
Mack will receive a pain-killing injection to help him get through the game, per sources.
The fracture occurred above the plate that Mack had inserted in his left leg after he broke his fibula in 2014. The plate might have been a blessing, helping to support a leg that suffered what one source describe as a « chip fracture. » Mack didn’t practice the week after the NFC Championship game, then was limited in practice this past week.
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« I just know his toughness and strength is so great, » Falcons coach Dan Quinn said this week. « The good thing is, I know he’s feeling better than he did in the NFC Championship Game. But yeah, I’m concerned. I’m not panicked, but I’m concerned. »
Mack initially was hurt in the second quarter of the NFC Championship game win against the Packers, exited for one play, then re-entered the game and played until sitting out the final series. Ben Garland is his backup.
« This game, because of multiple fronts by New England, requires a lot of prep work by the center, » Quinn said. « Identifying this look, this front, this player’s positioning, they (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. «
