Football demands youth spread throughout every roster, because older bodies have endured more punishment, and could break easily.
This is not revolutionary thinking, but the salary cap dictates that finding veterans to plug into a specific role is a necessary front-office skill. It separates championship-caliber general managers from the rest.
Aging yet still useful talent is also often cheap talent. That’s why as the market gets set to open it’s important not to overlook potential veteran gems who could be snatched for a far lower price than their position peers.
With that in mind, let’s explore two well-aged players who could become the best veteran bargains of the 2015 free agency period.
Frank Gore
In running back years Frank Gore should be confined to a plastic-covered couch, watching re-runs of Matlock. He’ll turn 32 in May, and the 2015 season will be his 11th professional year. That’s over a decade of ramming into walls of humanity. Worse, Gore’s career odometer now reads a whopping 2,784 touches.
So he should be crumbling now, which is the fate of most normal or even sort of adequate running backs after that workload. But we’ve been expecting Gore to melt for several seasons now. And we’re still waiting.
The San Francisco 49ers have invested early draft picks in potential replacements for Gore, first Kendall Hunter and now Carlos Hyde. And yet he remains the rare durable veteran running back who keeps chugging, thrashing and powering through would-be tacklers with his signature one-cut style.
In 2014 during his age-31 season Gore finished with 1,106 rushing yards. It was his fourth straight year running for 1,100-plus yards on the ground. He did it even with pressure from Hyde, and little support from an often floundering 49ers passing attack.
Gore’s effectiveness wasn’t just the product of plodding steadiness, either. He had four 100-plus yard rushing games, highlighted by a two-week stretch to end the season when he logged 302 yards.
The tackle-breaking burst Gore still has in abundance can be summarized in one play. This one, which somehow ended in a 52-yard touchdown…
As a productive and strong aging running back, Gore is a rare breed. He averaged 2.29 yards after contact this past season, according to Pro Football Focus, the 15th best total among running backs who were on the field for at least 50 percent of their team’s offensive snaps.
He still needs someone to share the workload with, which is why a return to the 49ers fits. During the scouting combine general manager Trent Baalke told CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco the 49ers’ intention is still to re-sign Gore.
Dwight Freeney
Dwight Freeney’s days of dominance are far behind him. He suffered a quad injury in 2013 that limited his season to only four games, and he hasn’t recorded a double-digit sack year since 2010.
But that’s just fine, because if he chooses to return for a 14th season (he was still uncertain in December), Freeney won’t be used in an every-down role. He would be a situational pass rusher, just as he was in 2014 with the San Diego Chargers.
What happened then? Freeney was on the field for only 54.9 percent of the Chargers’ defensive snaps. Yet he still finished with 40 quarterback hurries, which was third among all 3-4 outside linebackers, per PFF.
He still has impressive edge speed despite his age, and there’s recent precedent for mid-30s pass rushers being effective in a managed role. In 2013 the Cardinals coaxed 11.5 sacks out of a then 35-year-old John Abraham, and in 2014 a 34-year-old Julius Peppers finished with seven sacks and 33 hurries during a resurgent season for the Green Bay Packers.
