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The Official Matt Forte Thread, Pay Him or Trade Him
As we all know he's due in this contract, rumor has it he will sit if tagged. Whats your ideas on helping this team? Go...
Personally i think that if he is tagged that you being to shop him while the value is high. Forte is a great finesse runner but isnt a north/south runner that our system likes. I think and feel that his ypc and yac will decrease quite a bit out of Martz's system. Also forte has had a hard time in the redzone escp on the 1 yard line which has cost us 3-4 games in his career. If were were to get at least a 1st and 3rd for him i would trade him and then trade up for Richardson or get another good player and take that kid from Baylor (Martin?)
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Report -- Chicago Bears, Matt Forte to start contract talks - ESPN Chicago
Report: Bears, Matt Forte to talk
With a new general manager in place, the Chicago Bears will renew contract negotiations with running back Matt Forte this weekend, a league source told the NFL Network.
Phil Emery assumed the GM post this offseason after Jerry Angelo was fired. Emery and representatives for Forte are in Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine.
The previous offer to Forte was based on $13-14 million in guaranteed money, a source told ESPNChicago.com's Jeff Dickerson, and talks broke down. That deal was in line with extensions signed by the 49ers' Frank Gore and the Chiefs' Jamaal Charles.
Matt Forte
#22 RB
Chicago Bears
2011 STATS
- Rush203
- Yds997
- TD3
- Rec52
- Yds490
- TD1
Since entering the league, though, Forte ranks fifth in yards from scrimmage behind Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew and Steven Jackson. Peterson, Johnson and Jackson were 1-2-3 in average salary for running backs last season, with Jones-Drew sixth. Charles was ninth and Gore 13th.
Forte was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2011 after he led the team with 1,487 yards from scrimmage despite missing the final four games of the season due to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Bears coach Lovie Smith said Thursday that he thinks Forte will be playing for the Bears for a long time.
"Matt is going to play his football for the Chicago Bears, you start with that," Smith said Thursday at the NFL scouting combine. "In time, hopefully we can get an agreement in place that suits Matt and we feel comfortable with. I think it's just a matter of time. That will happen eventually."
If it doesn't happen, the Bears can slap the franchise tag on Forte before the March 5 deadline. He would get a one-year deal, and the 2012 franchise tag figure for running backs is $7.7 million.
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Originally Posted by
VJ18 
As we all know he's due in this contract, rumor has it he will sit if tagged. Whats your ideas on helping this team? Go...
Personally i think that if he is tagged that you being to shop him while the value is high. Forte is a great finesse runner but isnt a north/south runner that our system likes. I think and feel that his ypc and yac will decrease quite a bit out of Martz's system. Also forte has had a hard time in the redzone escp on the 1 yard line which has cost us 3-4 games in his career. If were were to get at least a 1st and 3rd for him i would trade him and then trade up for Richardson or get another good player and take that kid from Baylor (Martin?)
Forte said he'd make himself scarce if he felt like he was tagged just to be tagged. If he is tagged to give the Bears more time to work out a deal with him he is going to be okay with that. As far as the short yardage/goal line game, Tice isn't stupid. He knows how good Forte is. He also knows that Barber/Bell can get some tough short yards. Also, I wouldn't be surpised to see him try out Clutts in short yardage/goal line situations. I know there are some on this board who have already said they want to see Clutts get some carries and I wouldn't be surpised at all to see Tice give him some. There aren't many runners who excel at bouncing to the outside AND running up the middle for tough yards. But I think Forte's comes about as close as anyone. That's also why a lot of teams try to have a couple good RB's that compliment each other. That's exactly what the Bears have right now with the Forte/Barber/Bell/Clutts? combo right now. As far as I'm concerned, the Bears only two options should be to either pay the man or pay the man.
Last edited by Papa Bear; 02-24-2012 at 10:29 AM.
"Give 100%. 110% is impossible. Only idiots recommend that." - Ron Swanson
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High Fives / Like - 4 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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@BradBiggs Inside Source: "Bears to offer Forte 5-year, $50 Million contract with $18 Million guaranteed. RB expected to sign."
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High Fives / Like - 10 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Lotta people talkin about how easy it is to find a good RB; tell that to the Bears, who's last drafted good RB was...Neal Anderson. It's easy to replace a RB outside the top 10, very hard to replace a top 5 rb; just ask Seattle and SD, and Dallas. Don't want to see him break the bank, but he deserves more then what they offered. And I think you'll the new GM more willing to sign him.
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Originally Posted by
WindyCity @BradBiggs Inside Source: "Bears to offer Forte 5-year, $50 Million contract with $18 Million guaranteed. RB expected to sign."
How's that knock the salary cap Windy? Awesome find btw.
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Originally Posted by
Riczaj01 How's that knock the salary cap Windy? Awesome find btw.
It depends on whether it is front loaded or not.
If the Bears want to stay active in free agency and keep the cap number down I would say that it would be [8/8/10/12/12].
If the Bears want to get the payments over with and have him cheap in the end [12/12/12/7/7]
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
WindyCity @BradBiggs Inside Source: "Bears to offer Forte 5-year, $50 Million contract with $18 Million guaranteed. RB expected to sign."
This is great news if true. However I clicked on your link and didn't find any reference to this. Maybe I missed something. Still hope it's true and we can put the story to rest and concentrate on FA & the draft.
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Originally Posted by
WindyCity @BradBiggs Inside Source: "Bears to offer Forte 5-year, $50 Million contract with $18 Million guaranteed. RB expected to sign."
Nice find Windy. They finally hit the magic $$$ for his guarantee. I knew the Bears had to get it as close to $20 mil as they felt the could afford. I'd be willing to bet quite a bit of that money comes through the door in years 4 and 5 so the Bears are protected against injury or underperformance but Forte does very well if he stays healthy and productive. The guarantee isn't quite as much as DWill got but the overall value of the contract his higher. If it's a done deal we should see the details fairly soon.
Last edited by soulman; 02-24-2012 at 11:03 AM.
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