Frank Gore reportedly set to join Bills on a one-year, $2 million deal

Author: CBS News
Published:
Frank Gore. (Credit CBS Sports)
Frank Gore. (Credit CBS Sports)

Frank Gore won’t let the inevitable process of aging bring him down. Despite finishing his 14th NFL season on the Dolphins’ injured reserve list, Gore wanted to return for yet another season. Now, we know where he’ll play.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Gore agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal with the Bills on Monday. The deal can’t be officially completed until Wednesday.

In Buffalo, Gore will take on a backup type of role behind LeSean McCoy. In Miami this past season, Gore experienced a bit of a resurgence with 722 rushing yards on 156 carries. His average yards per attempt of 4.6 was his highest average since 2012, when he was still churning out yards with the 49ers.

Gore might find it difficult to match his success from a season ago, though, considering just how bad of a run-blocking unit the Bills’ offensive line was a year ago. McCoy, typically one of the most productive running backs in football, averaged 3.2 yards per carry this past season after averaging 4.6 yards per carry during his first three seasons with the Bills.

The Bills will enter the season with an impossibly old backfield behind second-year quarterback Josh Allen.

Gore, who has played for the Colts in addition to the 49ers and Dolphins, is entering the upcoming season with a chance to move past Barry Sanders for third place all-time in rushing yards. With 14,748 career rushing yards, Gore needs 521 to tie Sanders. He’s never finished with fewer than 521 yards in a single season. His worst output? 608 yards in 2005.

Gore is still 1,978 yards away from tying Walter Payton for the second-most rushing yards of all time. Since leaving San Francisco in 2015 after a 10-year run with the 49ers, Gore has averaged 918.7 rushing yards per season. If he maintains that pace, he’d need to play for just more than two seasons to top Payton.

With 18,355 career rushing yards, Emmitt Smith is safe from Gore atop the leaderboard — probably. When he left the 49ers, it seemed unlikely that Gore would be able to hang around in the NFL for another four seasons. But he did. Now, he’s heading into his 15th overall season five years past the age when most running backs hit a wall.

Gore might not be the running back he once was, but the fact that he’s still a reliable backup/change of pace option is remarkable. When he does eventually retire, he’ll have an easy path to Canton.

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