Even though Frank Gore, who played for the Buffalo Bills last season, hasn’t said whether or not he will retire, he has already started to make his case for the Hall of Fame.
While Frank Gore is a free agent, and hasn’t determined whether he will try to return for a 16th season, he has an impressive career. He currently is third all time in rushing yards after passing Barry Sanders this past season while with the Buffalo Bills.
He has been named to five Pro Bowls, has nine seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards and has been the definition of durability at a position that is not known for that missing only 14 games out of a possible 240 regular season games.
However, there has been a debate about whether or not Gore should make the Hall of Fame at the end of his career. The fact that he has been durable and has had a long career is almost viewed as a negative. He has never led the league in rushing, was never named as a first-team All-Pro and for most of his career wasn’t included in that group of best in the league at his position.
It is certainly a debate and Gore recently joined Chris Simms to defend his case on “Unbuttoned”, according to Jessica Kleinschmidt of NBC Sports.
During the interview, Gore makes an interesting point that isn’t necessarily considered. He talks about the lack of talent around him, specifically in the early part of his career.
As Kleinschmidt notes, he talks about the Pittsburgh Steelers offense that at one time included Juju Smith-Schuster, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. The point Gore was trying to make that there was times that he was the offense’s primary weapon and opposing defenses would game plan to stop him.
There is no question that the NFL has never seen a running back like Frank Gore, one who has been durable and given a steady performance, week after week, year after year. The longevity of his career should not be held against him and he should absolutely be in the Hall of Fame once he decides to hang it up.