Bears did it right with Forte

Matt Forte will go down as one of the best running backs in Bears history.

And that's not a terrible way to be remembered in Chicago.

There is a category of one at the top in Walter Payton, the greatest football player of all time.

Then there is Gale Sayers, maybe the most exciting player in NFL history, but a career sadly cut short by knee injuries.

Forte probably falls in next after those two and ahead of Neal Anderson, who had a pretty decent career himself but did not carry the same workload in the pass game.

Yeah, Forte's place here is secure, especially considering the era in which he plays, when running backs don't have the same value they once did, and when the attrition rate is so high that running backs are considered expendable and quickly discarded.

Most amazing is Forte's ability to stay healthy, which is a tribute to how hard he works in the off-season and how hard he works during the season.

Especially in 2014, the final, miserable season under Marc Trestman, Forte was an offense of one, taking an extraordinary beating and getting up nearly every time ready to take the ball again.

There was one particular game in which Forte took so many shots after catching passes as a safety valve that when I asked Kyle Long about it after the victory, he was stunned that Forte had survived.

"If you were to hear the hits up close on every play, you would not believe it," Long said after the Bears defeated Tampa on Nov. 23, 2014. "We're constantly asking, 'Matt, are you OK?' And he's the first one up, patting us on the helmet and asking if we're OK.

"The guy is built like a brick (outhouse). If there's a guy who's built for it, it's Matt. He carries the offense every week, whether it's receiving, rushing and don't forget blocking. He is an amazing athlete."

Said tackle Jermon Bushrod: "I've been in this league a long time and I've never seen a back take as many snaps as he has in a game. Last week I think we had 78 plays and he played 74. That's insane.

"When the guy comes to work, he works hard every day. He does what he has to do on the field, and he does more off the field to make sure he's feeling good come Sunday."

There's really nothing negative to say about Forte. It's not his fault that he's a 30-year-old running back with eight seasons of heavy miles under his belt, but the harsh truth is he's a 30-year-old running back with eight seasons of heavy miles under his belt.

The Bears have done a terrible job in recent years saying goodbye to players who have had great careers in Chicago, so credit Ryan Pace and John Fox with handling this in the best way possible, learning from the mistake ownership has made over and over again.

Rather than get into a protracted negotiation with a fan favorite, try to offer him low dollars and short terms that make sense for the franchise, they let Forte hit the market quickly and look for the best deal he can find.

Forte deserves that, and he's likely to find much better money and more favorable terms elsewhere with the opportunity to play for a competitive team.

The Bears, meanwhile, have other things on their minds. They had no reason to spend a lot of money on an aging running back for one season, a season in which they have little chance of winning the Super Bowl.

Forte has already defied the odds, staying healthy as long as he has, and wasting resources on Forte makes no sense right now.

The Bears have a lot of money to spend, but they have more needs than dollars. They need bodies on the offensive line, a tight end and another receiver.

It's much worse on defense, where the Bears - if they were being honest - would tell you they need at least five or six starters, and maybe as many as seven.

They need playmakers at every level of the defense and they need to get considerably faster.

Forte was a luxury they couldn't afford, and had he re-signed and gotten hurt next season, the critics would have buried the Bears for such a foolish move.

He's had a great career and Forte should be celebrated in Chicago, but his time here has expired.

Good for the Bears for doing the right thing, and here's hoping Forte finds big dollars and much success wherever he goes.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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