Running back Frank Gore has spent his entire 10-year career with the San Francisco 49ers, leading the team in rushing each season. Now in the final year of his contract, the 31-year-old's future in San Francisco is cloudy at best. Speaking on The Jim Rome Show Tuesday, Gore admitted that while he'd like to remain with the team, he knows that thte 49ers could opt to let him walk when he becomes a free agent in 2015.
Frank Gore talks 49ers future, Jim Harbaugh rumors
The San Francisco 49ers could move on without Frank Gore in 2015.
Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Gore, who signed a three-year, $21 million contract extension in 2011, still has plenty left in the tank. He's 10th in the NFL in rushing with 648 yards while averaging 4.1 yards per carry, the same total he had a season ago. Yet after the 49ers drafted Carlos Hyde in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Gore no longer looks like the future at running back for San Francisco.
The backfield of Gore and Hyde, along with quarterback Colin Kaepernick, gives San Francisco the No. 7 rushing offense in the NFL. Despite leading the team in carries, however, Gore is on pace to rush for just 1,037 yards and three scores this year. That would be his lowest single-season mark since 2010 when injuries limited him to just 11 games. Still, Gore doesn't think his age deters his ability:
“I’d love to be back here but they got younger guys,” said Gore. “You know how they feel about running backs. That’s why each week I go out to play for my team and to play for myself, and also to show other teams I can still be Frank Gore. Competing with young guys, and looking good, looking better than them. I know I can still do it. I still love the game, I’m still having fun, and that’s why I’m able to keep going.”
The truth is San Francisco's once loaded backfield has now become dangerously thin, which should increase the odds that Gore is back next year. The team waived the oft-injured LaMichael James earlier this season, and Marcus Lattimore later retired, leaving Gore and Hyde as the only reliable running backs the Niners have. While age may be starting to take its toll on Gore, he's still playing at a high enough level that they could help keep him in San Francisco beyond this season.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh’s future with the 49ers has also been a source of endless speculation, but Gore doesn’t view the rumors as a distraction for the locker room:
“He’s a great coach, he put a great coaching staff together and he’s a winner,” Gore said. “How can you not respect a winner? Since he’s been here he’s been to the Super Bowl and two NFC Championship games. That’s hard to do in this league.
“He’s him, he’s a competitor he loves what he does.”
At 6-4, the 49ers are once again on pace for a winning record and remain in playoff contention. They’ve made the playoffs every year under Harbaugh.
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