The Benefits of the 49ers Bringing Back Frank Gore

The more I've thought about the 49ers potentially bringing back Frank Gore, the more I've discussed the idea with friends and colleagues, the more it has grown on me.

Grant Cohn | Feb 11, 2021

Joe Staley didn't make me write this.

I've come to these conclusions on my own. The more I've thought about the 49ers potentially bringing back Frank Gore, the more I've discussed the idea with friends and colleagues, the more it has grown on me.

So I've come up with a list of all the benefits Gore would have for the 49ers. Here they are:

1. Gore is cheap, unlike, for example, Jerick McKinnon.

Gore probably would play for the veteran minimum, which is roughly $1 million for the entire season. As opposed to McKinnon, who pocketed $16.66 million to play 16 games in three seasons with the 49ers, or more than $1 million per game.

2. Gore is durable, unlike, for example, Jerick McKinnon.

Gore has missed only three games since 2011. As opposed to McKinnon, who missed all of 2018 and 2019 and has played a full 16-game season only three times in his career. Meaning Gore could keep Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Deebo Samuel fresh by taking their carries during blowouts. Remember, Samuel pulled his hamstring at the end of a blowout. Gore could prevent him from doing that again. As opposed to McKinnon, whose legs get tired.

3. He's a good blocker, unlike, for example, Jerick McKinnon.

Meaning Gore could help protect the 49ers quarterbacks, who got hit more than any other team's quarterbacks in 2020. McKinnon is part of the reason they got so beat up, because he can't block.

4. Gore wants to play for the 49ers, unlike, for example, Jerick McKinnon.

Gore went on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and said he would love to play for the 49ers again. As opposed to McKinnon, who said, "F--- no!" when asked if he would return to the 49ers, the team that was loyal to him for three seasons while he collected checks to rehab.

5. Gore is a leader, unlike, for example, Jerick McKinnon.

The 49ers offense has a leadership void. And Gore was the leader of Jim Harbaugh's 49ers. Not Patrick Willis. Not NaVorro Bowman. Not Justin Smith. Not Joe Staley. Not even Harbaugh. It was Gore. He commands the locker room. As opposed to McKinnon, who commands the training room.

Thank you for helping me see the light, Mr. Staley.

Published Feb 11, 2021

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.