Bills add another older running back with Frank Gore signing

The Buffalo Bills don’t seem to need a veteran running back that badly, but the signing of Frank Gore isn’t as lackluster as it seems.

The Buffalo Bills need some help offensively, and in particular they need to add weapons around quarterback Josh Allen. But their first move in free agency is for a running back, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Frank Gore is headed to Buffalo on a one-year, $2 million deal.

Gore was an effective runner for the Miami Dolphins last year, averaging 4.6 yards per carry on 156 carries last year. The 35-year-old (36 in May) continues to defy the running back age curve, and he’s now fourth on the all-time rushing list (14,748 yards). He needs 522 yards to pass Barry Sanders for third all-time, with Walter Payton (16,726 yards) and Emmitt Smith (18,355 yards) well out of reach.

Spurred partially by Allen’s production as a runner, the Bills had the league’s ninth-best rushing attack last year (124 yards per game). But LeSean McCoy had the worst year of his career in 2018 (514 rushing yards, 3.2 yards per carry), and even though he’s in line to be back with the Bills for the final year of his contract he’s clearly in decline nearly 31 years old.

The Bills also had 30-year-old Chris Ivory in the running back rotation last season. But he averaged just 3.3 yards per carry himself in a backup role, and with Gore’s signing he’s in line to be cut.

Advanced metrics liked Gore a lot last year, as Pro Football Focus was high on his pass blocking. As a runner, Football Outsiders tabbed him as a top-20 back in DVOA (14th), DYAR (17th) and success rate (19th).

Gore had at least 255 carries in seven straight seasons before last year, but his days as a workhorse are gone along with his production as a pass catcher (12 receptions for 124 yards in 2018). He’s still a plenty effective running back though, and from a certain perspective the Bills have made a very shrewd move.