The 2017 season represents Colts running back Frank Gore‘s age-34 campaign and a contract year. Given those two realities, the 13th-year man realizes he could be approaching the very end of his illustrious NFL career.
Looking ahead to the offseason, Gore told Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star: “I will really think about how I feel after the season and how I feel I played this year. If I feel good, a team wants me and I wanna play? Then I’ll play. But if I can’t do it no more, I won’t do it no more.”
Gore is one of only six NFLers still around from the 2005 draft, notes Keefer, who adds that he has outlasted the five running backs who went ahead of him that year by at least four seasons apiece. The former Miami star joined the 49ers as a third-round choice (65th overall) and evolved into one of the premier players in the franchise’s storied history. Gore spent a decade in San Francisco and totaled 11,073 rushing yards, nearly 4,000 more than second-place Joe Perry, on 4.5 yards per carry and made five Pro Bowls.
Gore left the 49ers in 2015 to sign a three-year, $12MM deal with the Colts, who had Super Bowl aspirations at the time. Unfortunately for the Colts and Gore, though, they haven’t made the playoffs with him in the fold and, at 0-2 and with Andrew Luck injured, look likely to extend their postseason drought to three years this season. Still, Gore doesn’t regret making Indianapolis his second (and potentially final) NFL stop.
“If I had to do it again, I still would make the same decision,” Gore said. “Things just didn’t go our way the last two years, starting with our leader. He got hurt. I’ve played with, what, five quarterbacks?”
Gore has played with six quarterbacks in Indianapolis, to be exact, including the uninspiring duo of Scott Tolzien and Jacoby Brissett this year. While Gore still managed at least 260 carries, 957 yards and four rushing touchdowns in each of his first two seasons as a Colt, they’ve scaled back his workload in 2017. He only has 24 carries through two games, putting him on pace for 192 (which would be his fewest since a 127-attempt rookie season), and 88 yards.
Despite his slow start this season, Gore’s overall output as a Colt has helped him vault into eighth on the all-time rushing list, 10th in carries and a 23rd-place tie in ground TDs, and he could ascend to the top five in each of the first two categories by year’s end. That wouldn’t be a bad way to exit for Gore, who already has a plan for the next chapter of his football life.
“I want to help in the front office,” he revealed.
In other news, white is white. Surprised, he’s so successful this long. Good for you Gore!
Make this last season to remember Frank cause your in my fantasy team lmao