He's really angling for a long term contract, teammates seem confident he'll show up:
Bears minicamp opens without Forte Cutler expects Pro Bowl RB to show up for training camp; Smith doesn't sound as convinced By Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune reporter 10:08 p.m. CDT, June 12, 2012
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said last week he would be shocked if Matt Forte misses any training camp.
Coach Lovie Smith did not sound as convinced after the team completed its first day of mandatory minicamp Tuesday at Halas Hall without the Pro Bowl running back.
"No, I wouldn't speculate on that," said Smith, who seemed a little agitated by questions about Forte. "When he shows up, we'll be ready to coach him up then."
Forte is not required to attend minicamp because he has not signed the one-year tender that comes with the franchise tag. He's set to make $7.7 million this season, but he is angling for a multiyear contract that would be worth far more in guaranteed money.
Cutler, appearing on WMVP-AM 1000 last week, said he expects to see Forte when camp opens July 25 at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais. Forte has until July 16 to sign a multiyear deal; otherwise, he must play the 2012 season on a one-year contract.
Between Forte and MJD and the now constant RBBC everywhere, RB is an even thinner position. Rice, McCoy, and Foster are bloody good commodities on account of demand.
Props to Deluxe for the sig There is nothing more frightening than ignorance in action. - Goethe
Matt Forte: Holdout possible Updated: June 22, 2012, 8:26 PM ET
CHICAGO -- Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte said Friday he might hold out of training camp but is optimistic about his ongoing talks with the team.
"Me and my agent are talking to the Bears," Forte said. "So talks continue to go on. I'm really optimistic about that part -- we continue to talk."
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The Bears applied the franchise tag on Forte and have until July 16 to sign him to a long-term deal. If Forte and the Bears don't reach a long-term agreement by then, Forte must play under the franchise tag, which will pay approximately $7.7 million.
"A lot of fans don't appreciate when guys hold out and stuff like that," Forte said. "But if it's a player and that is his leverage, he has to use it. As a team, they're going to use their leverage when they're negotiating against you."
The uncertain nature of the negotiations had Forte seemingly going back and forth on his options.
"Not playing at all? That actually is an option, but there's a slight chance of that happening. There's another option of not being in camp and that stuff. There's two sides to it," said Forte, who later said he would not miss the entire 2012 season.
why are there only holdouts in NFL? or is it that the other sports hide them so well?
but every year it seems tons of guys hold out, and i dont see that in baseball and basketball. why is that? have the owners in the NFL just done such a good job negotiating that the players are paid so much less than in otehr sports that they have to hold out
shawngee03 wrote:why are there only holdouts in NFL? or is it that the other sports hide them so well?
but every year it seems tons of guys hold out, and i dont see that in baseball and basketball. why is that? have the owners in the NFL just done such a good job negotiating that the players are paid so much less than in otehr sports that they have to hold out
Non guaranteed contracts are a huge factor. You are always one injury away from losing your leverage. Then factor in running backs better get paid prior to hitting 30, and it's not hard to see why players hold out when they out perform their contract. In the other sports, they get guaranteed money, and in baseball, they get 3 years of arbitration where they can get paid like a star if they are playing like one. Also, in baseball, they get massive signing bonuses before ever stepping foot on a major league diamond.
Matt Forte agrees to deal Updated: July 16, 2012, 1:01 PM ET ESPN.com news services
The Chicago Bears and running back Matt Forte have agreed to terms on a four-year contract worth roughly $32 million, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
The Bears had placed their franchise tag on Forte in March and the sides had until 4 p.m. ET on Monday to strike a deal. Without a long-term deal, the Pro Bowl running back would have had to play the 2012 season under the $7.749 million tender or sit out the season.
Forte sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee early in a loss to Kansas City on Dec. 4 and sat out the rest of the season.
Without Forte and quarterback Jay Cutler, the Bears struggled down the stretch and finished third in the NFC North and missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record.
Forte still got selected to his first Pro Bowl, finishing with 1,487 yards from scrimmage and 997 rushing in his fourth season. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry. Forte was the first Chicago running back to make it to the Pro Bowl since Neal Anderson following the 1991 season.
Forte came into last season looking for an extension, but did not reach an agreement with the Bears.
Now that he has signed, How do you guys view him? I see two glaring questions in his recovery from his injury and the presence of the Michael Bush signing.
Dawinner127 wrote:Now that he has signed, How do you guys view him? I see two glaring questions in his recovery from his injury and the presence of the Michael Bush signing.
He's a low end PPR RB1 for me.
As far as the injury is concerned I'm not too worried. Those four games last year were the first Forte has missed in his NFL career. Something that people often forget is the fact that Matt Forte played in the Pro Bowl last year, too. Forte would not have went out and played in a game with no meaning if he wasn't 100 percent. Re-aggravating his injury could've jeopardized his then upcoming contract talks.
The Michael Bush situation means more of the same for Forte as far as TDs and red zone work are concerned. Just like in previous years the bulk of Forte's value is going to come from total yardage and receptions, but there should be enough of that to keep him as a lower end RB1.
If I recall he was ready to play at the end of the year last year but made a remark to the extent he didnt want to damage his career by coming back early. In my opinion it was a clear stab at Chicago's greediness in not giving him a contract.
As for now what we think now that he is signed? I think he will play a similar role to last year except goal line and short yardage where he didnt do well. This will mean he still gets the ppr numbers but might only end up with 4-5 td's. Im not too concerned about his injury. I really believe he could have easily came back week 17. I had him in a dynasty and was paying attention greatly because I was weak at the position. He could have played but didnt because of the contract.
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