Bears' Matt Forte: 'It'd Be Crazy To Trade Me'
(CBS) After the Bears recently dealt defensive end/linebacker Jared Allen to the Panthers and linebacker Jon Bostic to the Patriots, running back Matt Forte's name was floated as another trade candidate.
While there have been no reports of Forte coming close to being moved, the rationale was easy enough to understand. The Bears aren't contending for anything except a high draft pick this season, and Forte will be a free agent in the offseason. To date, the Bears have shown no inclination to discuss a contract extension with him, and with their need to get younger, it's believed he may not be in there future.
Forte -- who turns 30 in December -- grasps what the situation is, but he also isn't expecting a midseason trade.
"It's funny," Forte said in an interview with Tiki and Tierney on CBS Sports Radio on Tuesday. "You know, the media -- I don't know, I guess they start to speculate, then they report it as news, so then it takes off. I can only control how I play on the football field. I don't really worry about it. I just think it'd be crazy to trade me anyways."
Forte sounded unsure as to whether he'd embrace a trade, saying his situation is different from that of Allen, who wasn't happy being used as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 system.
"I don't know," Forte said. "I don't know. I'd have to talk to, obviously, my wife. I'd have to talk to my agent about that situation. But the deal with Jared is everybody kind of knew what was going on because it came at a time we were 0-3. So everybody just thought we were trying to get rid of everybody."
Chicago is 1-3 entering Sunday's game at Kansas City. Forte has rushed for 367 yards and a score, posting 4.4 yards per carry. He also has 13 catches for 133 yards.
The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 3.