The writing was on the wall as early as the spring of 2015- Matt Forte’s days in Chicago were numbered. When Ryan Pace took over as general manager of the Chicago Bears, he didn’t engage in contract extension negotiations with Martellus Bennett or Forte.
It wasn’t too surprising with Bennett. Bennett still had two years remaining on his contract and Pace had just arrived on the scene, extending a player that had two years left and had attitude issues in the past, there was no question that Pace should wait-and-see with Bennett.
Forte was a different story. Forte only had one year left on his contract and was a model citizen for the franchise. He was still very productive, despite being 29-years old. But Pace didn’t engage in any conversations with Forte either. While that didn’t seal Forte’s fate with the franchise, it certainly opened a lot of eyes as to what Pace’s plan was for the future.
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The NFL is a business, and a tough business at that. The decision not to re-sign Forte while difficult did make sense. The Bears were in a full rebuilding mode and they wanted to get younger at every position. Despite being a fan favorite, keeping a 30-year old running back in 2016 when only a select-few running backs are even productive past that age is counterproductive. When the Bears drafted Jeremy Langford, the plan became clear- Forte would play in Chicago for one more season until Langford was ready to take over.
Forte was such a popular Bear that it upset plenty of fans, but after awhile, they came to understand the decision, even if it was a difficult one. Bears fans, too, were ready to move on from Forte and look to the future. But then something funny happened.
The Bears tried to sign CJ Anderson.
Anderson was a restricted free agent and the Bears extended a contract offer to the running back. Anderson would eventually decline and accept an offer sheet from the Miami Dolphins (the Denver Broncos would match and Anderson returned to the mile high city). But the question had to be asked, if the Bears needed to move on from Matt Forte, what is the point of signing CJ Anderson? Was Langford not ready or did the Bears decide that Langford couldn’t handle the workload? While Anderson is 5 years younger, the question had to be asked about whether it was worth jettisoning a fan favorite, a leader in the clubhouse, and a very productive back for the unknown of Anderson who was coming off a very up and down 2015 campaign.
But then things got even stranger.
According to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole, the Bears are interested in potentially signing Arian Foster to bring him into the running back stable. The Bears clearly are looking to add a third viable running back into their pair of Langford and fifth round draft choice Jordan Howard. Foster is slightly younger than Forte, but his NFL body is significantly older. Foster has been breaking down the last couple years and his productivity is definitely on the decline.
So the question becomes, if the Bears have this much interest in a veteran running back, why depart with Matt Forte in the first place?
It’s not like Forte broke the bank. The New York Jets signed Forte to a 3-year, $12 million contract with $8 million guaranteed. Forte had a desire to stay in Chicago and potentially would have signed for even less. If the plan is to get younger the Bears should have let Forte walk and never looked back. But if that’s the plan why consider bringing in someone like Foster?
At this point, it’s almost as if Pace let Forte walk without having a plan to replace him. At the time, everyone assumed that Langford would get the lion’s share of the carries with Ka’Deem Carey or perhaps another rookie (now Crawford) spelling Langford. But this desire to bring in another veteran has to make you wonder why Forte is no longer a Bear.
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Forte’s contract demands were reasonable, his production was still very good, his popularity was high, and his leadership was unquestioned. If the plan was to bring in another running back other than the youth they had on the roster, then the decision to let Forte walk must be questioned.
The Bears chose to let Forte walk before then even knew what he would receive in free agency. It would be one thing to see what type of offer Forte could get and then make the decision to match or move on, but the decision was made before the Bears even knew what type of offer Forte would receive. Now the Bears are looking at Foster or perhaps even Knile Davis to add to the stable and the decision just becomes more puzzling.
Pace has a good eye for talent and has done a tremendous job rebuilding the roster, but the decision to let Forte walk was probably made back in the summer of 2015, and clearly, based on the current roster and the Bears current search for a running back, was made far too premature.
Bill Zimmerman is an editor and featured writer for FanSided‘s BearGogglesOn. Like his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter for more news and interaction.