Forte a no-show for Piccolo Award ceremony

Running back Matt Forte is the Bears' veteran recipient of the 2015 Brian Piccolo Award, and cornerback Kyle Fuller is the rookie winner.

Tuesday's ceremony at Halas Hall was a bit awkward since Forte has been absent from the Bears' voluntary off-season workouts. which began two weeks ago. He also was not present to accept the award, and isn't expected to attend the voluntary minicamp that begins Tuesday afternoon. Forte is entering the final year of his four-year, $32 million contract and is angling for an extension.

Bears chairman George McCaskey called Forte's absence "a personal decision," and said, "It's up to Matt. I think that decision should be respected. We'd like to get him here for practice, but we know that Matt takes very good care of himself."

The former second-round pick from Tulane posted his third straight 1,000-yard rushing season in 2014, when he became just the second player in NFL history to catch 100 passes and rush for more than 1,000 yards. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound Forte rushed for 1,038 yards on 266 carries (3.9-yard average) last season and caught 102 passes for 808 yards (7.9-yard average).

But Forte turns 30 late in the upcoing regular season, an age at which even the best running backs usually show a distinct slippage in their production. Despite Forte's production last season, he had just 1 run of 20 yards or more on 266 touches, and his 3.9-yard average per rush was below the league average and the second lowest of his career.

The situation is nowhere near the critical point yet, but Forte's continued absence as the team implements a new offense could be troubling.

"I don't know what communication he's had with (GM) Ryan (Pace) and coach (John) Fox," George McCaskey said. "I'm leaving that up to him."

Fuller, the Bears' first-round pick a year ago, started the final 14 games of the season. He replaced injured Charles Tillman during the second game and intercepted 2 passes. Fuller's 4 interceptions tied with safety Ryan Mundy for best on the team.

Pat McCaskey, the Bears' senior director of special projects, read a statement from Forte that thanked his teammates for voting him the Piccolo Award. The honor has been given each year since 1970 to the rookie who best exemplifies courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor that Piccolo displayed. A veteran recipient has been named every year since 1992.

Piccolo died of embryonal cell carcinoma at age 26 in 1970 after five years as a Bears running back.

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