Arriving at a time where the San Francisco 49ers were an abysmal franchise, post-Steve Young and Jeff Garcia, running back Frank Gore went on to overcome the injury-prone tag as a 3rd round pick in the 2005 NFL draft. That year, the franchise also drafted Alex Smith #1 overall – but it was Gore that become both a 49ers legend and a symbol for longevity in a running back. Now, the NFL’s 3rd all-time leading rusher has finally called it a day – and he’ll sign a one-day contract to retire as a member of the 49ers, where it all began.
Notably a member of the 2001 Miami Hurricanes backfield that also included Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis, and Najeh Davenport, the running back racked up 16,000 yards rushing and almost 4,000 yards receiving, making for a total of almost 20k total yards. He also managed *only* 99 touchdowns rushing and receiving, but that had much to do with carrying (literally and figuratively) bad 49ers teams for years. All of this despite tearing an ACL and not having all of the measurables that scouts liked coming out of college.
A well-earned retirement, Frank Gore was out of the league in 2021 – but was still putting up decent numbers for someone his age in stints with the Colts, Bills, Jets, and Dolphins.
Frank Gore, the NFL's third all-time leading rusher (16,000 yards), announces he's signing a one-day contract with the 49ers and will retire.
Congrats on a legendary career @frankgore 👏 pic.twitter.com/kTU8FWiEsH
— NFL (@NFL) April 3, 2022
