Chicago Bears RB Matt Forte wants contract resolved soon - NFL News
Matt Forte sounded much more optimistic about his prospects for a new contract with Chicago Bears on Wednesday after the Bears had announced firing general manager Jerry Angelo just a day before.
He was not so sure when asked on Monday telling reporters that he has no idea about his long term association with the Bears as nothing is being discussed with the management on a new contract. However, in his latest statement the running back believes that
a deal is right around the corner.
"I'm pretty optimistic even if nothing did happen," Forte told Comcast SportsNet. "It's a long offseason, and I was hopeful that we'd get a long-term deal done in the offseason. I think with the offseason being here we can get something done."
The running back is currently on injured reserve with a knee sprain and has missed the last four games of the Bears regular season. Forte made 223 rushing attempts covering a total of 997 yards. He also scored three rushing touchdowns this season and a single
receiving touchdown before ending the season on IR.
Forte was also named in the roster for this year’s Pro-Bowl event which will likely lead to a increase in his salary demands but for now he is just hoping that the Bears come to the negotiation table soon.
"The Bears as an organization have a lot of decisions to make right now. I guess we're getting new players in and coaches and managers. I'm looking forward to hopefully being back with the team and hopefully sign a long-term deal."
The Bears missed out on the postseason this year after a poor second half of the regular season. Quarterback Jay Cutler and Forte were greatly missed by the Bears offense as they threw away their chance of securing a playoffs spot.
The Bears were 7-3 after week 11 but things started going downhill from that point onwards. First came the season ending thumb injury to quarterback Jay Cutler whose replacement Caleb Hanie was woefully unprepared to play in the National Football League
with the Bears losing all four games during his four starts.
The knee injury to Forte against Kansas City Chiefs further hurt the Bears offensive options and the franchise ended the season with a poor 8-8 record.
The contract negotiations with Matt Forte should be resolved by the Bears as soon as possible since it can become a very costly distraction in the long term as the franchise looks to rebuild from the ground up and return back for the new 2012 season.
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