Frank Gore says signing with Colts was his first choice all along

One of the Colts' most notable free agent signings this year was to add veteran running back Frank Gore, but it didn't come easy.  During the legal tampering period over the weekend before free agency, Gore was reported to have agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, seemingly ending the Colts' chances of signing him.  But then on Monday it was reported that Gore was reconsidering that deal, and by Tuesday evening he was officially a Colt.

Gore recently sat down for an interview with ESPN's Josina Anderson, and he talked about the decision to sign with the Colts, saying it was his first choice all along.

"We did say that we would go [to the Eagles]," Gore conceded, and he admitted that he felt bad about backing out of it.  "I knew Chip [Kelly] before he was in the NFL, and I felt that we were friends," Gore said.  "You know, it was hard on me because I didn't want to decline on a friend.  My first option was to play with the Colts, and I told my agent to talk back to the Colts and see, would they match the deal or would they make it better.  And they did.  And that's where I wanted to be, so I made that decision."

In other words, it sounds like all along Gore's top choice was to play with the Colts, and even when he agreed to a deal with the Eagles he was hoping that the Colts would match the offer.  Could this have been a situation similar to that of Jordan Cameron, who used the media and reports to get a better offer from the Dolphins after seeming to sign with the Browns?  Possibly, but we don't know enough about Gore's situation to say definitively either way.  What is clear, though, is this: Gore's top choice was the Colts, he agreed to go to Philly while still having his agent talk with the Colts about possibly matching the deal, and the Colts did match the deal, bringing Gore to Indy.

"When I knew that I wasn't going to go back to the 49ers, my first option was: I want to be with a great quarterback," Gore said.  "And I feel that you've got to have a great quarterback to have a chance.  Andrew Luck is a young quarterback and he can do everything.  He can throw, he can run, he's physical, he's a leader, and with that leading your team, you've got a great chance to win.

"I don't know how many years I've got left - two, three?  I want to have the opportunity to get back and be able to chase that trophy that I really want before I leave."

Gore came to Indianapolis wanting to win a championship before he retires, and he thinks the Colts have a good chance to do that.  "Before Andrew Luck got there, they were 2-14," Gore noted.  "And the year he stepped in that organization they made the first round of the playoffs.  Second year, second round.  Third year, now AFC Championship.  And hopefully, as a team, we all just come together and believe that we can do it, but take one game at a time, and be as one, and don't care about who's making the plays, just do it - I think we have a great shot."

Ultimately, Gore said that, "I want to show the new organization that they picked the right guy."  It's that new organization, the Colts, that he thinks has a great chance to win the Super Bowl, and it's that organization that apparently was his top choice all along.  And at the end of the day, Gore is an Indianapolis Colt.