Chicago Bears' Matt Forte has been one of the most consistently great NFL running backs over the past eight seasons. But everything, even good things, has to come to an end at some point. While it may not be a breaking news concept, the latest rumors on Forte's contract situation doesn't seem to promising for staying in Chicago, despite one of the Bears best players, Kyle Long, recently saying how much he's wanting the RB to stay.
Long, the Bears Pro-Bowl-caliber offensive lineman, addressed the media after their 26-21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday.
"When you think Chicago Bears, you think Matt Forte. Period," Long said via ESPN.
But Long understands that this is a business, and nothing lasts forever in the NFL.
"I'd love to play with Matt forever, but it's a business," Long said. "I understand that. If he is around, I'll be as psyched as anybody. And it will be one of the hardest things ever to see him in another jersey if that's the case. But we have one more game with him, sure. We're going to run the workhorse until the wheels fall off."
It's a great vote of confidence, and there's no question that Forte is going to go down as one of the best Chicago Bears of all time. But the Bears are looking at the future, and rightfully so.
Forte knows it too.
"I mean, I want to return," Forte said via the Associated Press. "But if you're saying am I hopeful that I do return? There's not much to hope for right now because like I've said, I talked to (general manager Ryan Pace) earlier and they haven't said anything back."
I have faith that Pace won't royally mess up the letting go process like Phil Emery did with Brian Urlacher. But I do think that he will decide what's best for the franchise, and that, in all honesty, is to let go of Forte.
This team is trying to get younger and not be held back. While Forte is still a productive back, he just turned 30. While that's not a death sentence for all NFL running backs, it's the beginning of the end for the majority. And that end generally comes quite abruptly. Perhaps that won't be the case with Forte, but there are other reasons why it simply makes more sense for the Bears to move on.
First, look at who they have on the roster.
Rookie Jeremy Langford and second-year back Ka'Deem Carey have looked fantastic this season. As a runner, Langford has been even more explosive and game-breaking than Forte was at any point in his career. Carey, meanwhile, is a great compliment as a smaller scat-back type of player. The more playing time and experience they get, the better they will do, and the future of the running back position is bright.
Another factor to consider is what the roster looks like outside of the running-back spot. As well, how do their financials look this upcoming offseason?
The 2016 offseason will be a huge one for the Bears as they have ample room in the salary cap, but also have many positions of need.
They already have to re-sign Alshon Jeffery, which will take quite a chunk out of the cap room. Unless Forte wants to take an extremely team-friendly deal (somewhere around two years, $8 million or so), he'll likely be too expensive for the Bears' tastes. And I wouldn't blame Forte for wanting to get as much out of this contract as he can, as it may be his last. So testing the free-agency market will definitely be something the Tulane product does in the coming months.
Ultimately, the Bears have two reliable running backs, and need to spend their (roughly estimated) $45-50 million in cap room on other positions. Having a top-half-of-the-draft pick and all of that cap space means the Bears can potentially fill every need they have this offseason. If they do that, this turnaround could be quick and playoffs could be a realistic and likely possibility as soon as next season.
So if next week is Matt Forte's final game as a Bear, it's a great thing that it'll be at home in front of all his adoring fans. He's done so much for this team, in good years and in bad, and he'll always be appreciated. But as it's been said, the NFL is a business, and sometimes you have to make the tough choices to better a team.
