Forte won’t play until he’s 100%, we don’t blame him
One of the big contract stories this season has been that of Chicago Bears RB Matt Forte. Still playing on his rookie deal, everyone knows that he’s far outplayed that second-round contract from 2008. Stevie Wonder could see that.
Forte, despite being underpaid on the last year of his deal, went out like a good soldier and kept playing. And playing well. And then he got hurt when a defender banged on his knee. This is exactly why people don’t want to play football in these situations with no guarantee of payment.
And so now, rightfully so, even with his team fighting for their playoff lives, Forte says he’s not playing until he’s 100% healthy. And he isn’t sure when that will be.
“I’m nowhere near 100 percent,” Forte told ESPNChicago.com. “So it’s not looking good for next week, I know that.”
He doesn’t sound like he’s in a mood to go back out and put his body on the line again for a Chicago team that hasn’t paid him.
“A lot of people were speculating about Christmas Day [against the Packers] and things like that,” Forte said. “But my mindset is, realistically, playoffs would be the only thing that I would really have my mind set on.”
Yeah, he’s not too concerned with helping the Bears.
“I’m not going to really go out there and play unless I’m 100 percent and I can run straight ahead and sprint and make cuts, because as a running back you have to make people miss,” Forte said. “You can’t just take on hits and get pounded on. You’ll have more injuries to rehab.”
