A ‘Blessed’ Frank Gore Is Eager to Start His 16th NFL Season
Frank Gore is still going strong even as he approaches age 40.
Now 37 and with a son playing college football, Gore is playing just as he did when he entered the NFL in 2005. Long removed from his Pro Bowl days with the San Francisco 49ers, Gore is entering his first year with the New York Jets.
No one is more aware of Gore’s longevity and success than the man himself, who recently called himself “blessed” to have made it this far.
Frank Gore could play forever at this rate
A national champion at the University of Miami in 2001, Frank Gore is still going strong nearly 20 years later.
Despite suffering a gruesome knee injury in college that dropped him to the 65th overall pick in 2005, Gore has been one of the most productive running backs in NFL history. Gore enters this season with 15,347 rushing yards, third-most all-time, and 79 rushing touchdowns to his name.
A productive receiver in his prime, Gore has also turned 468 receptions into 3,896 yards and 18 touchdowns. Gore has averaged 4.5 yards per carry in eight career playoff games, totaling 668 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Gore’s extended NFL career has allowed him to climb the record books one carry at a time. Only Emmitt Smith (18,355) and Walter Payton (16,726) have more rushing yards than Gore’s 15,347.
Although it isn’t impossible for Gore to run for the 1,380 yards he needs to pass Payton this year, it seems more likely he’d reach that number if he returns in 2021.
Gore is now with the New York Jets
After a decade in San Francisco, Frank Gore has bounced around the league in recent years.
Gore spent 2015-17 with Andrew Luck — or, usually, Luck’s backup — with the Indianapolis Colts. Gore returned home to Florida in 2018 and ran for 722 yards on 4.6 yards per attempt with the Miami Dolphins.
Despite outside beliefs that Gore would return to the Dolphins, he instead signed with the Buffalo Bills and mentored rookie Devin “Motor” Singletary.
Gore signed with the New York Jets this offseason and reunited with Adam Gase, his former head coach in Miami.
Frank Gore is feeling “blessed”
Running backs aren’t supposed to make it this long, especially not after they suffer a devastating knee injury in college.
Here is Frank Gore, though, and he intends to finish what he started. Gore is still in pursuit of a Super Bowl ring and he’s shown no desire to retire anytime soon.
According to the New York Daily News, Gore recently called himself “blessed” in a conference call.
“I’m still competing with these young guys. They say when a guy gets to 30 at my position they can’t do it. I don’t listen to that. I don’t care what a man says, only let the man above judge me. As long as I’m working hard and healthy and still enjoying and loving the game I think I’ll be fine.”
Gore and the Jets open their season on Sunday, September 13, at Singletary and the Buffalo Bills. For New York to pull off the upset, they’ll need Gore to prove age still hasn’t gotten to him yet.
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