Thread: Forte Threatens To Skip Training Camp, Says He Won’t Miss*Games

Ya when you talk about rb age and decline in performance you see a clear corolation between touches. RB's like Shaw Alexander, LT, LJ Portis were guys that consistantly had 350-400 touches year after year and by 28-29 they were no longer putting up 1K yards let alone 1400-2K plus like they had.

But guys w/less carries like Frank Gore, Thomas Jones and McGahee S Jax show low touches year in year out(288-330) still get 1200-1500 yards even at 28-30 years old

Eh I think he understand the current state of the NFL is RB's are used up after 30(and getting younger) and therefore he gets 1 contract; either elite now or mid range after 2 FT's. So now is the time to play hardball. The Bears should also know this though which is why it's suprising all the talk of "high milage" and bad knees they came out with.

It's wierd I never really thought about it, but 200-400 carries; only the qb is responsible for more touches and more yards then the RB...and the qb gets 3-4-5 contracts b/c they have the staying power. RB's get..if their lucky 1 or 2 and now w/current trends for not a lot of money considering the load they carry.

either way. He'll play. And I doubt they let him sit out of TC; expect a deal to get done and him to be there sooner or later.

Originally Posted by A-11

I dislike hearing players say this. If your not around for training camp (at minimum as a spectator), if you take zero snaps during preseason, do you deserve to start off playing during the regular season? If the team is using a new offense, how could you expect to be a part of it? Players that start hurting the team, need not be a part of it, I don't care what the net gain works out to be.

Originally Posted by Papa Bear

I'd be very worried about him hurting himself. I know he was in tip top shape last year, but he still had training camp to ease into game-type activity. If he misses training camp this year, he goes straight to full speed, full contact play and that worries me.

Goodstuff fellas. We were talking about this kind of stuff in a previous Forte thread. Makes no sense to skip trianing camp, yet say you will not miss any regular season games.

Forte is officially a tool in my book now. Rather than prepare for the season with his mates, he's making a pointless stand with this holdout. He really is getting terrible advice from his agent. You accomplish absolutely nothing positive by missing training camp and declaring that you will be playing when week 1 comes around.

I know this is kind of mean but if he does this, I hope he has a lousy season and Bush and Bell have great seasons. A part of me wants him to have a terrible season now for trying to screw this team over and not get on the same page with what the Bears are trying to do here.

Forte may your season be shit and may your stock plummet faster than the '07 stock market. You selfish prick.

I never have ever wanted a bear to have a lousy season, let alone a starter and one of their best players...it lends to a bad year no matter what hte backups do. Look at the QB wars of the mid 2000's after the SB. It took purging the whole crew and and a year just to get back to the NFCCG and it wasted one of the best D's during that same period.

Again, I doubt he misses much time if any. I read a version of this article on ESPN and he said he was actually positive of the direction of the talks. I think you'll see him either sign the Tag or a 4-5 year deal that is equivelent to the McCoy signing...ie 16-18 mil in guarantees.

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

and at that point if I were him I'd let them tag me 2x's. At 28 he could enter FA and probably get a 8mil to 14 mil deal like what Bush/Gore got which would net him more money/guarantees.

There is lies a huge issue. Why sign a 4 year deal w/less guarantees then the 2 1yr deals you're looking at getting? It's a paradox and probably the crux of the issue.


A-11, if it was any other position I would agree, but the RB posistion is hardly a hard position to figure out. He'll probably not be the starter for the first few weeks if he does it though. Team should have offered him 16 mil/35 last year and this wouldn't be an issue though so they share some blame.

Playing under the FT twice (or even once) is a risk for Forte. If he underperforms, he decreases his future value. If he gets injured seriously, he wrecks it. It's a roll of the dice with high possible financial payoffs but the real risk that he gets less or even nothing beyond it. That's why saying "why sign a long term deal with less guarantees than he would earn in 2 FT years" isn't so cut and dried. There's a risk that the payoff in the future doesn't materialize or is reduced substantially. It's Forte's choice to make whether he wants to "roll the dice" or take the "sure thing".

Personally, I doubt the Bears would FT him again next year anyway. $9.3m is awfully pricey. I think they'll just go with Bush and Bell and maybe a new draft pick if Forte won't sign a LT deal.

I do agree that JA really jacked this up last year and Forte should have been extended then. Penny wise, pound foolish.

MP THere is definately a huge risk; but the 2nd part of your point is why you do. The Bears probably have no interest in paying him 9+ mil a year; if they did this probably would be an issue to begin with. The chance of him under performing is nill, even w/the same or less carries and rec's his yards and td's should still remain similar b/c of the D's having to account for Marshal and Jefferies. The only real risk is inj; and that doens't enter into a 26yr athelets mind...although w/Forte it might since it happened last year. But 7 mil then FA at 27 still allows him a 4 year deal probably in the range Gore's 14 Guarantee money giving him the 20 mil he's wanting now.
I hope though your right and he takes the conservative approach and takes the 16-18 mil the Bears should offer him(nothing saying they have). It's a win win for both, ya it leaves him short 2-4 mil in guarantees, and probably 10 mil over all(not that players would ever actually see that) but w/how light his workload is(288-320) carries he'll live a better life and his #'s will always remain high.