The Bears have signed free agent RB Michael Bush to a 4 year, $14 million deal. This is a good value for the Bears. Bush was widely considered the top free agent RB available and will provide not only an excellent 1-2 punch with Matt Forte, but will also provide insurance in case Forte and the Bears can’t come to terms on a long-term deal and Matt holds out.
It’s this issue with Forte’s contract, however, that adds a level of uneasiness to this signing. For the third year in a row, the Bears have given significant money to a backup running back while refusing to lock up their premier ball carrier long-term. This fact has clearly not been lost on Matt Forte who tweeted the following after hearing about the Bush signing: “There’s only so many times a man that has done everything he’s been asked to do can be disrespected! Guess the GOOD GUYS do finish last.” There’s no denying the accuracy of Forte’s comments. He truly has done everything asked of him. Despite a failure to extend him last year, Forte still showed up to camp on time and in the best shape of his career. Remember, he played last season for $600,000 while Marion Barber came in and signed a 2 year, $4.6 million deal. By comparison, Forte was playing under the last year of his rookie deal; a 4 year contract worth a total of $3.8 million. So it’s understandable that Forte is frustrated. Without knowing the intent of GM Phil Emery, though, we can’t know if Forte is justified in being frustrated with this signing itself.
Let’s go over the possible motivations for making this deal. As I said at the top, this signing is a good value for the Bears. Bush is a productive running back who is good both out of the backfield and as a physical runner between the tackles. If this signing was made simply as a business decision, a good price for a quality backup with full intention on signing Forte long-term, then Forte should welcome the move. Having a teammate like Bush will allow Forte to get off the field a little more often, keeping him fresher for the duration of the season. It is entirely possible, though, that this signing was inspired by a need to protect the Bears from a possible Forte holdout. If that’s the case, that would mean that the Bears don’t plan on coming to an agreement with Forte and every bit of Matt’s anger over this signing would be justified.
It’s hard to know what the holdup is over an agreement between the Bears and Forte on a long-term deal. After all, the Arian Foster deal should’ve set the market for this deal. Forte should sign a very comparable deal to that 5 year, $43.5 million deal with $21 million guaranteed. If either side is proposing a number that is significantly off of that amount, then this standoff could last for quite a while and it may get very ugly. It is entirely possible, though, that new GM Phil Emery (who appears to be very structured in his approach) believes that now is the time to sign free agents and hammering out an extension for Forte will be done in its proper time. The optimist in me is hoping that this is the case. Thus far, in his short time as GM, Emery has done an excellent job in doing what’s best for the Chicago Bears. Paying Matt forte is definitely in Chicago’s best interest and I have faith that a deal will get done and we can all (Forte included) continue to be thankful that Phil Emery is our new GM.
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