You Just Knew This Would Happen..............

Forte wants new deal from Bears — now

Running back threatening holdout with camp set to open

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/...7/63592675.jpg Matt Forte with a big run in the 4th quarter of the NFC Championship game at Soldier Field. (Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune / January 23, 2011)



http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/...4-29142256.jpg Photos: Matt Forte in action



By Vaughn McClure, Tribune reporter 9:46 p.m. CDT, July 28, 2011


Bears running back Matt Forte told the Tribune last week that holding out never helps anyone involved. But he didn't rule out making such a move to nudge the Bears for an extension.

Forte now is strongly considering boycotting training camp when the Bears are to report Friday in Bourbonnais, according to a league source.

Forte said last week he wanted to secure a contract extension before camp, but the timing for that was disrupted with the flurry of free-agent signings and transactions after the NFL lockout. He is due a base salary of $550,000 in the final year of his rookie contract, and he isn't even the highest-paid running back on the team. Backup Chester Taylor is set to make $1.25 million this season.

Forte was the NFC's sixth-leading rusher last season with 1,069 yards on 237 carries with six touchdowns. He also had 51 catches for 547 yards and another three touchdowns.

"Any time a player has been producing very well,'' Forte said last week, "they're going to come back and say, 'Hey, throw me a bone here.'"

Nevertheless, Forte might want to proceed cautiously because holdouts will be fined $30,000 per day under the new collective bargaining agreement. Plus the last time a Bears running back held out — Cedric Benson's 36-day protest during his rookie season in 2005 — it didn't go over well with his teammates.

"It never benefits anybody — a player or organization — to hold out or miss practices,'' Forte said last week. "That's obviously something I wouldn't want to do.''

Efforts to reach Forte and his agent, Adisa Bakari, were unsuccessful, but communication between Bakari and the team have been cordial.

Forte is ranked fifth in the league in yards from scrimmage (4,731) since 2008, joined Walter Payton as the only Bears to notch 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in the same season and accumulated 1,400-plus yards from scrimmage in each of his first three seasons, the only player in franchise history to accomplish such a feat.

Forte wants a five-year-deal, and he is no doubt aware the Panthers' DeAngelo Williams secured a five-year, $43 million contract with $21 million guaranteed this week.

vxmcclure@tribune.com

Twitter @vxmcclure23


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I say no.

He'll get it.

He deserves it; he's been our Offense since he's been here; and our "Mad Genious" OC needs this style of RB to make his O effiecient.

The guy has been a beast on the field, and a good person off it; give him the F'n extension, and pay him well.

This is one of those cases where I have to say, "I hate being right". A little more than a year ago we signed Chester Taylor for a ridiculous sum of money because we could since it was an uncapped year. That set the stage for this and if everyone didn't know it then they sure as hell do now.

Before Wednesday all Forte and his agent could have held up as an example to use in negotiations was Taylor's deal and it's likely those discussions wouldn't have taken place until later this fall. Once DeAngelo Williams got his deal that picture changed and you just knew it would. So now instead of patiently waiting until FA had finished and the Bears could see what cap room they had left to make a deal they're faced with looking it straight in the face right now in the middle or trying to re-sign Kruetz, AA, Roach, Iwuh, etc. while at the same time get deals done to bring in the Oline and Dline help we need.

All I can say to Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith right now is, "I waited 4 months for this shit?" So far this has been one of the most mishandled personnel periods that I ever seen in Bears history and I've been through some. This is beginning to rank right up there with our trading a 1st round pick for Rick Mirer and all of the other stupid decisions made throughout the Wanny/Mikey era. Jesus this is getting annoying.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Riczaj01

He deserves it; he's been our Offense since he's been here; and our "Mad Genious" OC needs this style of RB to make his O effiecient.

The guy has been a beast on the field, and a good person off it; give him the F'n extension, and pay him well.

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Of course he deserves it but instead of dealing with it after getting through FA and the re-signing of our own UFA's now this gets put on the plate too. Forte is looking at DeAngelo Williams deal as a benchmark, Kruetz is balking at the Bears offer, we've heard nothing on AA or the rest of the FA's, Carimi's deal still has to be worked out, and we've failed to land even one of four top FA targets who were on our list. Things are going well at Halas Hall these days wouldn't you say?

I still cannot believe any of us are shocked that this staff has botched all this....And this is perfect proof that the 1st round trade probably was a mistep that they luckily avoided and not a deft slight of the Ravens.

Finish your contract first. Sorry but I am tired of these players wanting more money or threatening to hold out. Sit his ass for the season if he doesn't want to play. If he was so great then we would not have needed to go after Chester taylor last year.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 4th and 26

Finish your contract first. Sorry but I am tired of these players wanting more money or threatening to hold out. Sit his ass for the season if he doesn't want to play. If he was so great then we would not have needed to go after Chester taylor last year.

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Forte is definitely worth more than Chester Taylor, the only reason why we signed Taylor was to switch it up a bit to throw off the other team. Exactly what Taylor did when he backed up AP. Forte is going to be even BETTER this year because he is fully healed up from that hamstring injury he played with for a season and a half. He deserves more than double what he's earning for this season.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 4th and 26

Finish your contract first. Sorry but I am tired of these players wanting more money or threatening to hold out. Sit his ass for the season if he doesn't want to play. If he was so great then we would not have needed to go after Chester taylor last year.

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Well that's not likely to happen so they have to figure out how to either get a deal done now or convince him that they'll give him a DeAngelo Williams type deal in a few months after the dust settles. I don't really believe he'll hold out though since he knows the Bears typically reach out to extend guys they want before their deals expire.

The Williams deal didn't help but the fact that he's making less than half what that useless back up of his is making is a slap in the face and that isn't even considering the $$$ they paid out to the SOB last year. I'm sorry but that move for Taylor for that price was a huge mistake and I said that last year when we first started talking about the need to extend Forte after the season he had. There are some real problems going on right now whether the Bears want to admit it or not.