Biggs: Franchise Tag For Forte?
(WSCR) With Matt Forte surpassing the 1000-yard mark of total yards through seven games this season, the contract-extension talks will most certainly follow.
One Bears expert, however, thinks the Bears would be wise in franchise tagging the young running back.
"Here's the deal, the guy is accounting for more than 46 percent of the offense, and that's two things: It's a wonderful tribute to Forte's skill, the guy is having a phenomenal season," Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune and The National Football Post told The Mully and Hanley Show on Monday. "He's second in the National Football League in rushing, he's second in yards per carry with 'backs who have 100 carries or more. This is going to be a Pro Bowl season for Forte – something he hasn't pulled off yet. But if you can't get the extension done in terms that are comfortable with the team moving forward under the salary cap, you franchise cap him. And you do it twice if he stays healthy and remains productive."
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If the Bears were to franchise tag Forte in 2012, they would owe him roughly $7.7 million. If they did it again in 2013, the price would be around $9.2 million.
"It's pretty simple," Biggs said. "The team reduces any risk that it has moving forward with him. And you look at that situation and say, well if you tag him twice, you can get six years of service out of the guy. How many guys in the National Football League remain in an elite level beyond six years? There aren't a lot of them."
