CHICAGO — Contract talks between the Chicago Bears and veteran running back Matt Forte are on hold.
Forte was looking for an extension as he entered the fourth and final year on his rookie contract, but general manager Jerry Angelo said talks are most likely off until after the season.
“We’ve spent a lot of time trying to work out an extension with Matt, and his agent did as much work as he could do. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to come to an agreement at this point, so we’ve decided that we’re just going to focus on the season,” Angelo told WBBM- AM radio in Chicago on Monday night. “That’s something we talked about when we went into the negotiations.”
Fifth in the NFL with 4,731 yards from scrimmage since he entered the league, Forte had considered holding out at the start of training camp but decided against it. The Bears were willing to negotiate, but the talks are being tabled for now.
The Bears’ season opens this weekend against Atlanta, and that’s where Angelo said the team’s focus lies. He’s not completely ruling out a new deal by the end of the year, though.
“Not saying the door is shut,” he told the Chicago radio station. “But right now our focus is going to be on the season.”
He said the decision to break off the talks was mutual and added, “We visited a few times in our last meeting. We felt like with the season upon us, that right now we want to focus, Matt wants to focus on the season and having a great year that we all expect and know that we will.”
If they don’t agree to a deal before the end of the season, Forte could test the market as a free agent. But the Bears could slap him with a franchise-player tag.
Footnotes.
The San Francisco 49ers signed linebacker Tavares Gooden to a one-year contract, giving the team a reliable defensive player against tight ends. To make room on the roster, the 49ers released linebacker Antwan Applewhite. Their season opener is Sunday against the defending NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks.
• New York Giants linebacker Jonathan Goff will miss the season because of a knee injury. Goff, in his fourth season with the Giants out of Vanderbilt, suffered the injury during Monday’s practice. He had 80 tackles and one sack last season, which the Giants finished 10-6.
• The Buffalo Bills claimed second-year offensive tackle Sam Young off NFL waivers and released journeyman wide receiver Ruvell Martin.
• The Cincinnati Bengals released QB Dan LeFevour from the practice squad and replaced him with QB Zac Robinson, who was New England’s seventh- round draft pick last year.
• The Indianapolis Colts added wide receiver Chris Brooks and quarterback Mike Hartline to their practice squad.
The Associated Press
