Frank Gore missed the Jets' season-finale against the Patriots after sustaining a lung contusion shortly after becoming the third player in league history to rush for 16,000 yards a week earlier. Gore's milestone along with the injury led to speculation that the future Hall of Fame running back has played in his final NFL game.
Gore, however, is not closing the door on coming back for a 17th season if he can find the right circumstance, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 37 year old (he'll be 38 in May) is slated to become a free agent at the start of the league's new year. Gore made an impact on his teammates during a turbulent 2-14 season for the Jets.
"Frank's been inspiration to all of us," quarterback Sam Darnold said of Gore, via Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. "He's just a special player, a special human being. He was put on this earth to play football. It was unbelievable to watch him play and I'm proud to call him a teammate and a friend."
A five-time Pro Bowler and member of the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team, Gore had more carries (187) and rushing yards (653) than he did as a member of the Bills in 2019. Gore started started 14 games after the Jets released Le'Veon Bell, who was injured a the start of the season. One would assume the Gore will not be asked to carry that big of a workload if he is on a NFL team for the 2021 season. It can also be assumed that Gore does not want to spend the '21 season on a team that is rebuilding.
The 65th overall pick in the 2005 draft, Gore spent the first decade of his NFL career in San Francisco, helping the 49ers advance to three consecutive NFC title games that also included a trip to Super Bowl XLVII. A four-time Pro Bowler during his time with the 49ers, Gore then spent three seasons in Indianapolis before spending one season apiece in Miami and Buffalo. In 2019, Gore helped complement Bills' rookie running back Devin Singletary, as the duo combined to amass 1,668 yards while helping Buffalo clinch a playoff berth.
At the start of 2020, Gore, during a visit with CBS Sports HQ, expressed his desire to resume his career. As is the case now, Gore said at the time that he wanted to go to the team that felt like the best fit. The Jets, after all, were coming off a 7-9 season that included a 6-2 finish. Gore was also reunited with Adam Gase, his coach during his one season in Miami. Gase was fired on Monday after going 9-23 in two seasons as New York's coach.
"I still love it. I still train my behind off," said Gore, who at the University of Miami overcame two major knee injuries. "You can't listen to [the doubters]. If I would have listened to what people said, I only would have played two or three years ... . I showed people, when I got the opportunity ... that I can still play the game. And I'm still having fun."
Gore is just 726 yards from matching Walter Payton for second place on the all-time rushing list. He is 2,355 yards from matching Emmitt Smith's all-time rushing record.
