Future Hall of Fame running back Frank Gore saw his 2018 season come to an end in Week 15 due to a sprained foot. The injury did not require surgery, but given the late nature of the season, the Dolphins shut down Gore.
Gore missed the final two games of the season, and it marked the first time since 2010 he had missed a game. That season, Gore suffered a fractured hip in Week 12 that put him on injured reserve. He returned in 2011 to rush for 1,211 yards and eight touchdowns.
Last night on the /NFL sub-Reddit, an Eagles fan put together an interesting comparison. In 2010, 12 running backs were drafted. That group combined to start 175 games, with Ryan Matthews leading the way with 66 starts. No member of that class remains in the NFL, and Gore has exceeded all of them with 195 career starts.
We could do this with most of the running back classes drafted since Gore entered the league. He just chugs along, working his way up the NFL’s all-time leaderboards. He ended last season fourth in career rushing yards (14,748) and fifth in total yards from scrimmage (18,544). He is 521 rushing yards back of Barry Sanders for third all time, and 610 total yards from scrimmage back of Marshall Faulk for fourth all time.
Gore is a free agent this offseason, and I’m fascinated to see what kind of market he has. After three seasons in Indianapolis in which he averaged less than four yards per carry, Gore averaged 4.6 yards per carry in Miami — his highest ypc since 2012. The Dolphins seemingly want Kenyan Drake to claim the starting job, but he could not fend off Gore last season. Will Miami bring back Gore for one more year?