Thread: Bears CEO Phillips hopeful Forte will take 'strong offer'

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

Again, I think both have played their positions right. I'd say JA played dirty pool last year lying to get Forte into camp. I think Forte was stupid for walking into camp last year w/out having an extension. But this year both have done what they should have.

If I'm forte I don't take a 4-5 year deal w/less guaranteed money then the 2-3 FT's the team can put on me. 4-5 years he won't be able to get another deal, 2-3 years from now he might be able to; and he'll walk away w/eqaual to or more money. Knox aside, most NFL players don't end up w/a career ending/crippling injury. As for the Bears, they can tag him 2-3 times then let him walk into FA and test the market. If he does get hurt this or next year, you didn't lose any extra guarantees. Come contract time if he is healthy, they can either beat the other teams offer(ala briggs) or they can let him walk(ala benson).

If I'm Forte, I might sit out a 3-4-5 weeks regardless of how the team is doing; it would limit the carries and the hits; allowing him to be fresh, and if Bush or Bell goes down, he regains negotiating strength too. That's business, it's what the Bears did bringining in Bush, no reason to hate Forte for doing the same.
If I'm the Bears I make sure the offer we gave is right in line w/what the other rb's are getting to make sure that doesn't happen.

It's like a game of poker right now Ric with the difference being that the Bears have flopped their hand already and raised the bet. Each side knows what the other is holding and the Bears now have a much stronger hand to play. The only leverage Forte has is a hold out on the strength of the fact that the Bears can't trade him because he hasn't signed his tender and they can't get fair value for him if he does anyway. Besides, that's a touchy issue. You can't tag a guy just to trade him away.

With Forte we have one of the best backfields in the NFL but without him we're still better off than we were at the end of last year. We can still win with just Bell and Bush. Our top pair beats his ace high.

If the Bears "strong offer" is about what Lynch got he should probably take it. I don't think he'll get a better offer from them than that. It's in the ballpark of where he should be.