He will not play for the Jets in Gillette Stadium’s Sunday final against the Patriots.
Chances are he will never play for the Jets again – or anyone else for that matter.
When the 2-13 Jets end their miserable 2020 season on Sunday, veteran Frank Gore is back home with the bruised lung he suffered in the game against the Browns.
But the 37-year-old Gore has left his mark on every Jets player he has touched this season. He was a gift to the younger players who got a glimpse of the professional athlete.
In a cruel game that runs like the current US president is bubbling, chewing and spitting tweets, Gore was the ultimate survivor.
The NFL is just as much an abbreviation for the National Football League as for ‘not long’, with an average career of 3.3 years. For laggards, the number is even lower – a career expectation of 2.57 years.
Gore played 16 years, 241 games, and ran the ball 3,735 times for exactly 16,000 yards with 81 quick kicks.
Gore’s 48 running yards against the Browns last week left him with only Emmitt Smith (18,355) and Walter Payton (16,726) in his career.
If you listen to those whose lives he touched, it is clear that Gore’s greatness extends far beyond his mind.
“He’s an excellent football player, but even a better person,” said 23-year-old Jets player Ty Johnson. “He’s the model for a pro athlete.”
Guardian Greg Van Roten calls what Gore did “incredible”, adding: “He does everything physically and mentally to prepare himself … and he brings others together. It was quite an experience to share a dressing room with Frank. As o-line members, we were very aware of the 16,000-year-old point. Each week it was: ‘How many meters does Frank still need? What should we get him for? ‘
“He hit it right on the nose and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Indeed, Gore’s last series of the season – as a Jet and quite possibly of his career – scored a 4-yard win against the Browns in the fourth quarter. Those plots earned him 16,000 for his career.
It is unclear if this was the play on which he sustained the bruised lung, but Gore did not play one again after that.
“Frank was an inspiration to us all,” quarterback Sam Darnold said. “He’s just a special player, a special person. He was placed on this earth to play football. It was amazing to see him play, and I’m proud to call him a teammate and a friend. ‘
Coach Adam Gase, who was in Gore for the first time in 2008 as a 49ers attacking assistant and later brought him to Miami, said he believes Gore had an impact on everyone around him in the building came, whether it be a player, coach, staff member. ”
Gore is not the first Hall of Fame player to play for the Jets in the twilight of his career.
Assuming he will eventually be elected to the Hall (of the top 16 career riders, all except Gore and Adrian Peterson, who are also still active), Gore will be the eighth Hall of Famer to have a cup of coffee with the Jets at the end of his career since 1993.
Safety Ronnie Lott played for the Jets in 1993 and ’94 after ten seasons in San Francisco and two in Oakland, ending his career with the Jets.
Receiver Art Monk played for the Jets in 1994 after 14 seasons in Washington and another season in Philadelphia before retiring.
Safety Steve Atwater played for the Jets after 10 years in Denver and ended his career in New York.
Quarterback Brett Favre played for the Jets after 16 seasons in Green Bay in 2008 and then played two more in Minnesota before retiring.
Running rugby LaDanian Tomlinson played for the Jets in nine seasons in San Diego in 2010 and ’11 and ended his career as a Jet.
Safety Ed Reed has played the last seven games of the 2013 season with the Jets after 11 seasons in Baltimore and the first part of the ’13 season in Houston, and his last NFL game was as a Jet.
Defensive end Jason Taylor played for the Jets in 2010 after 12 seasons in Miami and one in Washington, and he ended his career with another year in Miami before retiring.
All seven players were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Once eligible, Gore will also have his own bust.
Asked if he expects Gore to continue playing or whether it will hang after this season, Gase said: ‘I said it a long time ago:’ Never doubt Frank Gore. ” ‘