Matt Forte Not Looking To Become Highest Paid Runningback

Michael C Wright of ESPN Chicago relayed RB Matt Forte‘s remarks that he is no looking to become the NFL’s highest paid runningback.

Forte was ranked as the #33 player on NFL Network by the players Top 100 list last night.  Forte was asked if he felt “disrespected by the franchise in his quest to land a new deal.”

“”All you can ask for is respect, and you go out there and you do your best to earn it. Respect isn’t given to anybody,” Forte said on the NFL Network. “You’ve got to earn it out there. So the way I go about playing the game, preparing for it and the way I play, I feel I have earned the respect.”

The Bears and Forte both want to get a long-term deal done, but it seems as if the sides are still relatively apart in negotiations.  However, with other high profile runningback signings it’s possible that a deal could get done before training camp, but it still seems that this dispute could last into the season.

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Michael C. Wright of ESPN Chicago reports that the Bears are “believed” to have reached out to RB Matt Forte regarding his current contract dispute.

According to the report, Chicago wants Forte to sign his one-year franchise tender of $7.7 million before they seriously consider discussing a long-term deal.

This would dramatically impact Forte’s leverage moving forward, as the Bears would have guaranteed themselves another of year of his services, without making a long-term commitment. Forte and his reps have to know that he has a limited window to secure a long-term contract, so I’d be surprised to see him jump at their offer.

He’s currently sitting out of the team’s OTA’s, but that’s really not a problem considering that they’re reportedly employing a similar running scheme to that of Mike Martz’s.