On Wednesday June 18, 2025, ESPN released an article with their picks for an NFL All-Quarter Century team.
The 53-man roster featured several San Francisco 49ers including current players RB Christian McCaffrey, FB Kyle Juszczyk and OT Trent Williams and legends WR Randy Moss, WR Terrell Owens and CB Richard Sherman.
But a notable 49er was missing from ESPN’s roster, and one 49ers insider called ESPN out for it.
Frank Gore Was Not on the Roster
Insider Grant Cohn, who covers the 49ers for Sports Illustrated, called out ESPN in a post on X on Wednesday June 18, 2025 for leaving former 49ers running back Frank Gore off of their All-Quarter Century team.
“Frank Gore is the NFL’s leading rusher since 2000 and he didn’t make ESPN’s All Quarter Century Team,” Cohn wrote. “That’s dumb.”
Cohn was also irritated that ESPN left former 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis off the roster, calling that out in a similar post.
But he was more irritated about Gore, following up that post with another continuing to plead his case for why Gore should have been included on the team.
“Frank Gore is the only running back in the history of the NFL to face 12-man boxes consistently, and he still didn’t make this team,” Cohn wrote. “Shameful.”
Gore’s Case for the All-Century Team
The three running backs that made ESPN’s All-Quarter Century team are Priest Holmes, Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry.
In terms of overall body of work, Gore makes the team over those three easily. Holmes and McCaffrey have had a handful of great years but nowhere near the volume of production that Gore has. We’ll see where Henry stands when his career is all said and done, but he’s still several thousand yards behind Gore in his career as well.
To be fair to ESPN, this list seems to be less about accomplishments and more about the skill a player displayed during their career. Holmes was picked because of his dominant peak from 2001-2003, and McCaffrey was picked because he compliments Holmes and Henry well as a receiving back. Henry was picked for his power.
But consistency and reliability are the most important, unteachable, underrated attributes for any professional athlete.
ESPN is thinking about this as if it’s a real team they are assembling to play football. So what happens when Holmes and McCaffrey inevitably get injured?
ESPN is going to be calling Gore (and Los Angeles Chargers legend LaDanian Tomlinson) to join their roster quickly.
In an 11 season stretch from 2006-2016, Gore had over 1000 yards nine times. In his prime, which was longer than most running backs, you were essentially guaranteed to get a 1,000 yard season no matter the year.
ESPN may not be impressed, but most 49ers fans would take the near guarantee of a 1,000 yard rusher over a 50/50 chance to have an elite running back, with the other half of the coin flip representing an early season-ending injury.
By that argument, Gore absolutely deserved a spot on the team.
Because sure, many of the players ESPN picked have produced a couple seasons of elite football. But Gore has the largest body of work in the 2000s of consistently elite and healthy football.
He leads the record books with 16,000 rushing yards since 2000. It’s that simple.
Insider Calls Out ESPN Over 49ers Snub