Frank Gore May Scrap Bout With Deron Williams If NFL Contender Calls

Frank Gore has turned to boxing after a productive 16-year NFL career, but he is still willing to return to the NFL.

In fact, the future Hall of Fame running back said he'd scrap his upcoming bout with former NBA guard Deron Williams if an NFL team called. Provided, of course, it was the right NFL team.

"I might say eff it and go with (the NFL),” Gore, 38, told reporters of his boxing match, as relayed by Sam Robinson of Pro Football Rumors.

Gore was always less of a superstar and more of a survivor in the NFL. He has been a workhorse in the backfield for multiple organizations, an unsung team-first type of guy.

“I know that I can still play the game, I know I can help a team,” Gore told KNBR radio after last season. “But it’s also got to be the right situation that I feel that I can be on a team that could go to the playoffs and get a chance to probably go to the Super Bowl. I know that I can still play the game of football, but I also want to be in the right situation on the right team.”

Gore appeared in 15 games with the New York Jets last season, compiling 653 yards on 187 carries. He even crossed the goal line twice. Before that, he spent a season with the Buffalo Bills. Before that, a season with the Miami Dolphins. And before that, it was three years with the Indianapolis Colts.

It’s been quite a journey, and many people expected he would walk away from the game after his first 10 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2005-14).

But it always seems like a team is interested in Gore and that Gore is interested in continuing to play football.

“I talked to a couple teams, but my agent told me not to put any teams’ names out there. I kind of want to wait to training camp,” Gore said. “I want to feel that. I want to wait to see if it’s the right situation for me. … If a team calls and I feel like it’s right, I’ll do it. But if I don’t like the situation, I’ll say forget it.”

Written by
Sam Amico spent 15 years covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports and NBA.com, along with a few other spots, and currently runs his own basketball website on the side, FortyEightMinutes.com.