Matt Forte: Pay Me Now
By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 23, 2012 2:00PM
The Bears signing of former Oakland running back Michael Bush didn't sit well with their top running back. And Matt Forte took his frustrations to Twitter Thursday.
Bush, as we mentioned yesterday, is slated to be the backup running back Marion Barber was supposed to be last year and gives the Bears much-needed insurance at the tailback position should Forte hold out for a long term deal.
But Forte's value was higher last season, when he rejected an offer from the Bears, Barber was injured in training camp, and the team's depth at the other offensive skill positions required him to be responsible for 45 percent of the team's offense. With the signing of Bush, the trade for wide receiver Brandon Marshall, the trend among NFL teams to have depth at running back to split the workload, and the shit-canning of the Mike Martz offensive scheme, Forte wasn't going to be required to shoulder most of the burden next season, anyway.
Everyone seems to agree Forte has earned the right to a long-term contract and it's easy to see how he views the Bears' signing of Bush as disrespect. Signing Bush, in particular the $7 million in guaranteed money, may establish an "us vs. them" mentality between the locker room and the front office, according to the Tribune's Matt Bowen.
ESPN's Kevin Seifert doesn't believe the Bush signing will lead to a Forte holdout, and credits the Bears for looking for an insurance policy for that now, as opposed to if Forte doesn't report to Bourbonnais in July. Forte's value was already low given his inability to score from short yardage; Forte scored on only one of 12 carries from inside an opponent's ten-yard line last season.
And there's the requisite sniping among local sportswriters—we're looking at you, David Haugh—that Forte should be grateful he was given the franchise tag by the Bears, and with it a $7.7 million salary.
Even before his Twitter rant, Forte and his agent deserved some of the blame for this mess. For all the talk about wanting a new contract, they haven't indicated to anyone what terms Forte wants in a new deal, especially guaranteed money. Sun-Times Bears beat reporter Sean Jensen thinks Forte and agent Adisa Bakari are seeking a deal somewhere between the $10-$14 million offer that was rejected last season and the seven-year deal signed by Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, which includes $36 million in guarantees.