Frank Gore Jr. was playing a numbers game.
And although he himself put up big numbers for the Buffalo Bills in the preseason, it wasn't enough.
The Bills announced Tuesday that Gore was one of 27 players they released (with various designations) to get down to their initial 53-man roster.
Gore, the son of a 49ers legend with the same name who ran for 16,000 NFL yards, was a preseason star. He was the only player in the league to have both 100 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards this month.
But he won't be on the Bills' 53-man roster to start the season.
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Why did the Bills cut Frank Gore Jr.?
Frank Gore Jr. was in a tough spot.
He's spent previous summers with the Bills, but he hasn't played in a regular season game yet.
And the Buffalo RB depth chart was not friendly to him.
The Bills have James Cook established as RB1, and once he got his $48 million contract extension, he was ready to go for the season.
Behind Cook is second-year back Ray Davis, a promising and powerful rusher.
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The Bills also regularly count on Ty Johnson as their third-down back, so his spot was safe.
That left very little space for Gore.
His preseason performance likely earns him a practice squad spot if he doesn't target a move elsewhere, but he'll have to wait to get his NFL regular season debut.
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