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Should the 49ers Bring Back Frank Gore?

Frank Gore wants to play for the 49ers one more time.

Grant Cohn

Frank Gore wants to play for the 49ers one more time.

The 49ers legend made this clear Friday on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco. "I would come back in a heartbeat," Gore said. "I would love to wear that No. 21 jersey one more time. If that was to happen, that definitely would be my last year. You've got to tell Jed and Kyle to bring me back."

When I first heard what Gore said, I admit I was down on the idea of the 49ers bringing him back for a few reasons.

1. He turns 38 in May.

2. He averaged only 3.5 yards per carry last season.

3. His longest run of 2020 was a mere 17 yards.

4. He's not as good as Raheem Mostert or Jeff Wilson Jr.

5. He turns 38 in May.

Seems to me the 49ers should continue signing and developing undrafted free agent running backs, because they've had success doing just that.

But as I made my case on Twitter, 49ers legend Joe Staley jumped in and wrote, "Grant. Just Stop."

Staley is older and wiser than me, and he made me think. Was I being too negative? Perhaps.

What's the harm in the 49ers signing Gore to a veteran's minimum deal to be the third-string running back? If he wants to be a backup's backup, wonderful.

And let's not stop there. If the Washington Football Team releases Alex Smith, maybe the 49ers can make him their third-string quarterback. Why not?

And if the 49ers bring back Smith and Gore, then Staley has to come back, too. Because the 49ers need him much more than they need the other two. Staley still can play if he gains weight. He could replace Mike McGlinchey at right tackle and instantly upgrade the worst offensive line in the NFL.

So, yes, bring back Gore. But only if Staley comes back, too.

What do you say, Joe?

Published
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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