Imrem: Bears should treat Forte with same respect he's given them

Many things could happen to Matt Forte within the next couple hours or days.

First, the Bears running back's knee injury could be serious enough to sideline him for an extended period of time.

Second, speculation has swirled that the Bears would consider dealing Forte before Tuesday afternoon's NFL trade deadline.

Third, there's the possibility that Forte will be healthy and remain with the Bears.

Here's a vote for Door No. 3.

Seriously, hope that Forte wasn't injured badly in Sunday afternoon's 23-20 loss to the Vikings in Soldier Field.

Forte left in the third quarter with a knee injury, though Bears' head coach John Fox characteristically declined to speculate on the severity.

In Forte's absence, Jeremy Langford dropped a third-down pass, the Bears had to punt and the Vikings drove for the winning field goal.

More than a few observers thought, "Matt Forte would have caught that ball."

Bears' quarterback Jay Cutler praised Langford's work and said, "One play doesn't win or lose a football game."

But then Cutler was asked where Forte ranks on the list of players the Bears could least afford to lose.

"He's up there," he said."I talked about him this week, how important he is to this team."

Forte is 29 years old - bordering on ancient for a running back - and in the final year of his contract.

Yet last week a Denver newspaper article debated whether the Broncos should pursue Forte this week.

From the Bears' viewpoint, their record is 2-5 and they aren't in position to contend for the playoffs.

Fox said that the Bears' realistic hopes from here "are to get better," presumably meaning during the remaining nine games of this season.

One theory is that the Bears should focus on getting better next year by trading players like Forte for draft choices.

Forte might not be back with the Bears next season anyway so why not get something for him?

Well, we're talking about running back. Quality running backs are sacred in the Bears' scheme of things and have been for decades. They are to be treated with respect whenever and however they leave town.

Quarterbacks, even one like Jim McMahon, who helped the Bears to their only Super Bowl championship, could be traded away without much reluctance when the time was right.

Running backs are more a fabric of this franchise.

In September a fan in the east upper deck showed up to a couple games in a Bears' jersey top with "G-A-L-L-A-R-N-E-A-U" on the back.

The late running back Hugh Gallarneau last played for the Bears in 1947. Yet he was remembered by at least one fan, perhaps a relative, 68 years later.

Scan a Bears' crowd in Soldier Field on game day and you'll still see myriad "P-A-Y-T-O-N" and "S-A-Y-E-R-S" threads.

Long after he is gone from the Bears, some fans will sit in the stands with "F-O-R-T-E" on their backs.

Handle this guy with the same care with which he has handled the ball for eight seasons. All good things must come to an end but Forte deserves better than to be shipped out in midseason like just any other uniformed employee.

Meanwhile, Forte also deserves better than to suffer a major knee blowout if this indeed turns out to be his final season in Chicago.

The future will take care of itself soon enough without sacrificing Matt Forte to the football gods of injury and trade.

mimrem@dailyherald.com