NFL Trade Machine: Is Matt Forte A Serious Option?

At first thought, the instant reaction would be no way.  How in the world could the Chicago Bears consider trading Matt Forte?  He is their best offensive weapon and has really carried their offense through a trying season.  However, there are some reasons to consider that making such idea not so insane.

Production and Health

All anybody can talk about is the fact that Forte is 29-years old.  And?  It certainly doesn’t seem to make much difference.  He is as difficult to stop as he’s ever been, a great runner and even better pass catcher that brings so much value to his offense.  At his current pace, he could finish with 2,065 total yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns.  He’s also only fumbled once in 268 touches.  It stands to reason that a number of teams, especially contenders would love to get their hands on a talent like Forte.

He also hasn’t missed a game since September of 2012.

Contract

On top of that, his contract is quite advantageous for an NFL trade scenario.  The 2015 season will be the last of his current deal with the Bears.  He will carrying a heft $8.8 million cap number, but the key figure here is $1 million.  That is how much dead money would remain if a team were to cut him.  That means an organization could trade for him and if he doesn’t work out release him with minimal impact to their pay structure.

From Chicago’s point of view, trading Forte would free up just under $8 million in cap space.  That could give them as much as $40 million in 2015 to spend in free agency, not counting the draft pick(s) they’d get in the deal.

NFL Draft

The final argument to this scenario rests on the strength of the 2015 NFL draft class.  Put simply it may be the strongest its been at the running back position in a decade.  If the Chicago Bears were to find an immediate replacement for Matt Forte, this would be the year and the class to do it.  There is Todd Gurley of Georgia, Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin, Tevin Coleman from Indiana and a host of other options to choose from.  That doesn’t even include Ka’Deem Carey whom the Bears have stashed on their roster from the previous draft.

Keeping Forte a Bear for life is a nice sentiment, but if the opportunity arises for Chicago to get some premium NFL trade value from the veteran running back, they have to consider it.