Injury Choices: Frank Gore Injury

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Franklin Delano Gore (born May 14, 1983) is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Miami, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft, playing with them from 2005 to 2014. He is the 49ers all-time leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.

Throughout his NFL career, Gore has often been ranked among the best and most respected running backs playing the game, having been selected to five Pro Bowls and has had nine 1,000 rushing yards seasons. While achieving some personal success, he struggled with a team that suffered numerous losing seasons until he and the 49ers achieved a 13-3 record in the 2011 season under new head coach Jim Harbaugh. In 2011, the 49ers won the NFC West division and reached the NFC championship game. In 2012, Gore helped lead the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII. In 2011, Gore became the 49ers career rushing yards leader and in 2012, he became the 49ers rushing touchdowns leader. In 2014, Gore became the 29th player to have rushed for over 10,000 yards. Gore is one of only three players to have nine consecutive seasons with 200 or more carries, while also maintaining an average of four yards per carry or better. The other two players to accomplish this are Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Barry Sanders.

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Early years

Gore was born in Miami, Florida. He grew up in Coconut Grove, Florida, and attended Coral Gables High School, where he excelled as a running back. He had two notable record-breaking games. Against Miami Northwestern High School, he had a then career high 293 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. In the next game, he broke that record with 319 yards and six touchdowns on 13 carries against the number 3 ranked defense in the nation. During his senior year in 2000, Gore broke several Dade County single-season records, including rushing yards (2,997) and touchdowns (39). Heavily recruited, he was named the No. 1 prospect in Dade County by The Miami Herald, No. 4 in Florida, and No. 5 nationally.

While emerging as a talented football prospect, Gore also focused his attention on improving his academics and assisting his mother, who was battling kidney disease and had started dialysis treatments. To remain close to home, Gore eventually chose to attend the University of Miami.

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College career

Gore had a scholarship to attend the University of Miami. As a true freshman for the Miami Hurricanes football in 2001, Gore totaled 820 yards with twelve touchdowns on 62 carries (a 9.3-yard avg) as a backup to Clinton Portis on Miami's 2001 National championship winning team. Gore has the third-best season total in school history by a freshman and was named Sporting News' Big East Freshman of the Year. He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee before spring practice in 2002 and spent the following season recovering from knee surgery. Before his injury that year, Gore beat out Willis McGahee in the spring of 2002 for the role as the Hurricanes' starting running back.

Gore returned in 2003 and rushed for 100 yards in each of his first five games of the season. He also returned for his senior year in 2004, when his cousin, Kim Gibson (Coral Gables star QB/WR at the time) asked him to change his uniform number from #32 to #3 for better luck. He then ran for nearly 1,000 yards during the season.

In 28 total games with the Hurricanes, Gore rushed 380 times for 1,975 yards (a 5.7 rushing average) and seventeen touchdowns. His 1,975 yards rank seventh on the school's career-record list and his seventeen scores are tied for tenth. He also caught 25 passes for 985 yards (9.8 avg), returned two kickoffs for 48 yards and recorded five tackles on special teams.

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Professional career

2005 NFL Draft

Gore was selected 65th overall in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, signing a 3-year contract on July 28, 2005.

San Francisco 49ers

2005 season

Gore played in 14 games, starting one. He was inactive for two contests with a groin injury. He finished the season seventh among all NFL rookie running backs in rushing average with 4.8 average per run. He led the team in rushing with 608 yards on 127 carries and three rushing touchdowns. Gore also caught 15 passes for 131 yards. Gore's season was the first time a rookie led the 49ers in rushing since 1990, when Dexter Carter paced the team with 460 yards. His 608 yards rushing was the highest for a 49ers rookie since Roger Craig had 725 yards rushing in 1983.

He rushed for 17 yards on four carries and caught two passes for 21 yards in his first game against the St. Louis Rams. He later rushed for 42 yards on seven carries with a 5.4-yard average against the Dallas Cowboys. He led the team with 89 yards on nine carries and recorded a then career-long 72-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter at the Washington Redskins. The touchdown was the longest run from scrimmage by a 49ers player since running back Kevan Barlow took one 78 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The touchdown run was fifth-longest run from scrimmage by a 49ers rookie. He led the team in rushing for the third straight week with 55 yards on 14 carries (3.9-yard avg.) at the Chicago Bears, with a 19-yard long. He made his first NFL start against the Jacksonville Jaguars, amassing over 100 combined yards with 79 yards rushing on 19 attempts for a 4.2 yard average with three receptions for 57 yards. Gore had his first two-touchdown game against the St. Louis Rams, with a 10-yard scoring run in the second quarter and a 30-yard score in the fourth quarter. In a game against the Houston Texans, he registered his first 100-yard game with 108 yards on 25 carries. Following the season, he had major surgery on both shoulders.

2006 season

Gore was elevated to the top of the San Francisco 49ers' depth chart following the August 19, 2006 trade that shipped incumbent starter Kevan Barlow to the New York Jets in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.

He emerged as one of the top running backs in the NFL in his first full season as the starter. Gore carried the ball 312 times for a franchise record 1,695 yards, eclipsing Garrison Hearst's 1998 record of 1,570 yards. He became the first member of the 49ers to lead the NFC in rushing yards. He also set a franchise record with 2,180 combined yards (1,695 yards rushing and 485 yards receiving), breaking Hearst's single season record of 2,105 total yards (1,570 rushing and 535 receiving) set in 1998. His total placed him second in the NFC to Steven Jackson (1,528 rushing and 806 receiving, 2,334 total) and fourth overall in the entire NFL. In the 49ers' first meeting against the Seattle Seahawks, Gore set the 49ers' single-game rushing record by totaling 212 yards on 24 carries, besting the 201 yards by Charlie Garner on September 24, 2000 against the Cowboys. Gore had nine 100-yard rushing games in 2006, giving him ten for his career. His nine 100-yard games in 2006 shattered the franchise record for most 100-yard games in a season. Garrison Hearst (1998) and Roger Craig (1988) each had six 100-yard games in a season. Gore was the first 49ers running back to have three-straight 100 yard games since Garrison Hearst had a 49ers-record four straight 100-yard games during a stretch in 1998. In those three weeks, Gore set the team record for most rushing yards in a three-game span.

His breakaway ability helped him finish the season with 5.4 yards per carry, placing him third in the entire NFL, behind only Michael Vick (8.4 YPC on 123 carries) and Maurice Jones-Drew (5.7 YPC on 166 carries). The 5.4 yards per carry are tied for the second best in 49ers history. Among players with over 300 carries, however, Gore's season puts him in elite company. Very few times has a player averaged as many yards per carry as Gore did, while carrying the ball over 300 times. The players ahead of him are all Hall of Famers and feature three, 2,000-yard rushing seasons.

He finished with eight rushing touchdowns, tied for the third most in a season by a 49er. Gore finished the season with 61 receptions, which led the team. Only two other teams had a running back as their leading receiver: New Orleans (Reggie Bush) and Philadelphia (Brian Westbrook). Of those, only Gore and Westbrook also led their team in rushing. He also caught his first receiving touchdown of his career at Seattle, when Alex Smith avoided a sack and found Gore along the left sideline for a 20-yard score. He led the NFL with 16 rushes for 20 or more yards. Gore earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors twice during the 2006 season. He grabbed the honor in Week 5 after rushing for 134 yards on 27 carries, and catching 3 passes for 38 yards, against the Oakland Raiders. He also won in Week 11 after his franchise record 212 rushing yards, and 26 yards on 4 receptions, against the Seattle Seahawks. After Gore's tremendous season, he was named the starting running back to the NFC Pro Bowl team. It was Gore's first selection to the Pro Bowl.

Gore had benefited that season from the tutelage of then-offensive coordinator Norv Turner, whose offensive scheme places a heavy emphasis on running the football.

Though Gore had fumbling problems at the beginning of the season, losing the ball once in each of the first four games, he improved his carrying and only fumbled three more times the rest of the year.

2007 season

Gore signed a contract extension through 2011 estimated to be worth $28 million over four years on March 28, 2007. He also stated that it is his goal to surpass Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record in 2007. He said that he would gain 2,200 yards.

Gore broke a bone in his hand in the non-contact Training Camp drill on July 30 and missed the entire preseason. On September 13, Gore's mother died, due to a kidney disease. He missed a practice, but returned to the team and scored two touchdowns the following Sunday in a 17-16 win over the St. Louis Rams. Gore's best game came against the Arizona Cardinals where he recorded 116 rushing yards and 98 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He finished the season with 1,102 rushing yards and 436 receiving yards.

2008 season

Gore began the 2008 season against the eventual NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals, where he rushed for 96 yards on only 14 carries. Despite his impressive performance, which also included a 41-yard touchdown run, the 49ers lost, 23-13.

In Week 3, he dominated the Detroit Lions, rushing for over 120 yards with a touchdown in a 31-13 victory. The following week against the New Orleans Saints, Gore outrushed Reggie Bush, although the 49ers were defeated, 31-17. In Week 6, Gore had his second 100-yard game of the season, as he rushed for 101 yards on 19 carries in a 40-26 defeat against the Philadelphia Eagles.

In a Week 17 victory against the visiting Washington Redskins, Gore became the first running back in 49ers history to rush for 1,000 yards or more in three straight seasons.

2009 season

Gore entered the 2009 season under the guidance of new running back coach Tom Rathman. He was also complemented by a new second-string back, 49ers' third-round draft pick Glen Coffee.

After being nearly shut down in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, Gore had a career day the following week in the home opener versus the Seattle Seahawks. Gore rushed for 206 yards for a 12.8-yard average, including a 79- and an 80-yard touchdown run, becoming the second player in NFL history to rush for two touchdowns for 75 yards or more in a single game, with the other being hall-of-fame running back Barry Sanders. Maurice Jones-Drew would become the third running back to also rush for two touchdowns for 75 yards in a single game.

After missing his next two games against the St. Louis Rams and Atlanta Falcons due to an ankle injury, Gore returned in Week 7 against the Houston Texans. While he had a successful game against the Chicago Bears in Week 10, gaining 104 yards with a touchdown, he was used less in the 49ers' offensive game plan in the following three weeks, after the team adopted more of a spread offense. In the 49ers' second game against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14, however, Gore had one of his most successful games of the season, rushing for 167 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown. In the 49ers' game against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 16 of the season, Gore had 16 carries for 107 yards against an Eagles team that had not given up a 100-yard game in 22 consecutive games. Gore was named a first alternate for the 2009 Pro Bowl. On January 20, 2010, Steven Jackson announced he would not be playing in the Pro Bowl because of injury, so Gore was named to the 2010 Pro Bowl in his spot, the second of his career.

2010 season

Gore had a productive start to the season rushing for 853 yards and 3 touchdowns. He had rushed for four 100 yards games before fracturing his right hip in a Week 12 win over the Arizona Cardinals, ending his season after the 49ers put him on IR.

2011 season

Gore agreed to a three-year extension on August 30, 2011. Worth $25.9 million, the extension kept Gore with the San Francisco 49ers through the 2014 season.

During the offseason, the 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh to be their new head coach and built themselves around a combination of a great running game, a supplemental passing game and a power house defense. This combination proved to be effective for Gore and the 49ers, leading them to a 13-3 record in the regular season and a playoff spot for the 49ers, their first since 2002 along with a first round bye.

In the first three games of the season, Gore did not perform well, rushing for 148 yards on 59 carries for only 1 touchdown. However, after week 3, this changed. In week 4, the 49ers were down 23-3 at the end of the first half when quarterback Alex Smith and Gore both led drives to make the end score 24-23 and a 49ers win. Gore rushed for 127 yards and rushed for the game-winning touchdown when four minutes were left in the game. Against the Buccaneers, Gore rushed for 125 yards and one touchdown in the 48-3 win for the 49ers. However, his performance in that game was eclipsed by his performance against the Detroit Lions, where he rushed a season high of 141 yards in 15 carries and a touchdown in a 25-19 win for the 49ers, ruining the Lions 5-0 start.

The next few games went pretty well for Gore, rushing for 134 yards and a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns and 107 yards against the Redskins, becoming the 49ers record holder of most consecutive games with a 100 yards (5). However, against the Giants, Gore had an unmemorable performance, rushing for 0 yards and leaving in the second half with a knee injury. This was Gore's first game with 0 rushing yards. He would return the next game, where he would redeem himself against the Arizona Cardinals, where he rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown. Next week, however, he rushed for only 39 yards against the Ravens powerful defense in 49ers 6-16 loss. The next game, however, proved to be a 49ers win against the St. Louis Rams, where Gore became the 49ers' all-time leading yardage rusher, surpassing Joe Perry; he rushed for 73 yards on the game. The next week Gore performed well despite losing the game 19-21, rushing for 78 yards and the 49ers only touchdown.

He manage to finished the season on a high note, with a three-game winning streak, including one against the Steelers, where he rushed 65 yards and a touchdown. He finished the season with 1,211 yards, having had five seasons with at least 1,000 rushing yards.

During the playoffs, Gore performed exceedingly well, helping the 49ers set up a touchdown by rushing for 42 yards in the divisional round vs. the Saints; he had a total of 89 yards in the game. During the NFC Championship, Gore rushed for 74 yards against the New York Giants.

2012 season

The 2012 season started with a huge performance against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field with 112 yards with a score in a 30-22 San Francisco win. In week 4, against the New York Jets he had 64 yards along with a touchdown in a 34-0 blowout win in New York. The next week, he had 106 yards and another score in 45-3 win against the Buffalo Bills. In week 7, he was the crucial player in a San Francisco 13-6 win against division rivals Seattle Seahawks with 131 yards rushing in 16 carries and 51 yards in 5 receptions. He then had a 7-game streak with 50 rushing yards or more until it was snapped against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle in a 42-13 loss. In the final regular season game, week 17, against the Arizona Cardinals at Candlestick stadium, Gore became the all-time team 49er franchise leader in rushing touchdowns (51) and won the Western division title. He ended the season with 1,214 yards on 258 carries and 8 touchdowns. He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl, his fourth appearance.

In the playoffs, the 49ers faced the Green Bay Packers once again, this time in Candlestick Park. He had 119 yards and a score (his quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, had 181 yards rushing, the most ever by a quarterback in a single game). The San Francisco 49ers then visited the Georgia Dome to play against the top seeded Atlanta Falcons. The game was completely dominated in the first quarter by the Falcons with receiver Julio Jones having 100 yards and the 49ers -2. They went into halftime with the Falcons leading 24-14. The game would end up with the San Francisco 49ers winning 28-24 when NaVorro Bowman made a stellar defensive play to stop the Falcons on 4th down inside the 49ers 10-yard line. During the NFC Championship Game vs the Atlanta Falcons, Gore had 90 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns in the comeback 28-24 win, allowing the 49ers to go to Super Bowl XLVII, their first Super Bowl since 1994. In the Super Bowl, Gore had 19 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown, but the 49ers lost the game 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens.

2013 season

Gore entered the season with a lot questions about his age having turned 30 during the offseason. He responded by having a great season playing in all 16 regular season games. Gore's season got off to a slow start, only rushing for 60 yards in the first two weeks of the season. A week three loss to the Indianapolis Colts in which he had 82 rushing yards on only 11 carries had the media questioning why the team wasn't running the ball more. In week four Gore had a big game rushing for 153 yards and a TD on 20 carries, Gore and the running game would lead the 49ers to five straight wins. In week 14, he had a 51-yard rush with four minutes left that help secure a 19-17 win against the Seattle Seahawks. Gore had three 100 yard games and finished with 1,128 yards and 9 touchdowns on 279 carries.

2014 season

Gore entered the season only needing 33 yards to reach the 10,000 yard mark for his career, he would get them in the first game of the season rushing for 66 yards in the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. Gore became the 29th player in NFL History to rush for 10,000 career yards. The 49ers went away from the running game until week four when Gore rushed for 119 yards on 24 carries he also had a career long 55 yard receiving TD against the Philadelphia Eagles. The next week he rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries against the Kansas City Chiefs. Throughout the season Gore would climb up the NFL's All-Time rushing yards list passing some impressive names along the way, names like Eddie George, Tiki Barber, Jamal Lewis, Ricky Watters, and Warrick Dunn. The 49ers struggled all season to find an identity on offensive which led to a 8-8 record causing them to miss the playoffs, so the team decided to end the season featuring the running game and Gore. He rushed for 158 yards and a season-long 52 yard TD on 26 carries against the San Diego Chargers, and in his final game with the 49ers, he rushed for 144 yards on 25 carries. Gore finished the season with 255 carries, 1,106 rushing yards, and 4 TDs, and became the 20th player in NFL history to rush for 11,000 career rushing yards.

Indianapolis Colts

2015 season

On March 10, 2015, Gore signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts. His contract includes $8.5 million in guarantees. Prior to signing with the Colts, it was widely reported that Gore had agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles on March 9 to replace LeSean McCoy. However, the following day several sources claimed that Gore had second thoughts about his agreement, and instead signed with Indianapolis.

Gore enjoyed a respectable season, but 2015 marked the first season Gore played 16 games and missed the 1,000 yard mark. Gore finished 9th in rushing yards with 967 and had six touchdowns, while also adding 267 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Gore's best game was against Miami, where quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was injured in what was the final game of his career. Gore stepped up to engineer an 18-14 win with 85 rushing yards on 15 carries with 2 rushing scores.

2016 season

In Week 1, the team was in a shootout against the Detroit Lions, and Gore carried the ball 14 times for 59 yards. In Week 2, the Colts faced the Super Bowl 50 Champion Denver Broncos and their vaunted defense. Gore did not have a great showing, rushing for 44 yards on 13 carries, but did have a touchdown reception. Gore had a better game in Week 3, rushing for 82 yards and a touchdown. On October 9, Gore surpassed Jim Brown in career rushing yards. Gore would carry that momentum into Week 6, rushing for 106 yards on 22 carries to become the Colts' first 100-yard rusher in 55 games. After the game, Gore voiced his frustration with the team losing, saying "I didn't come here for this, I came here to get into the tournament." In week 8, Gore tied Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Jerry Rice, and Don Hutson for the most consecutive seasons (11) with at least five touchdowns. In Week 15 against the Viking's third ranked defense Gore would hit the century mark for the second time this season, rushing for 101 yards on 26 carries. Gore finished the season with 1,025 rushing yards and 8 Touchdown. This is the 9th time Gore has rushed for 1,000 yards in his career, he joins Pro Football Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith (11), Curtis Martin (10), Walter Payton (10) and Barry Sanders (10) as the only players in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in at least nine different seasons. He also became the Colts first running back to rush for 1,000 yards since Joseph Addai in 2007.