If those in the Bears locker room are looking for familiar faces after the team hired a new GM and coaching staff, they won’t find it in front of Matt Forte’s locker.
The veteran running back was a no-show for the start of the voluntary offseason workout program, The Chicago Tribune reported Monday.
Sources told the Tribune that Forte made it known he wouldn’t be there, but it raises concerns of whether the eighth-year back is looking for an extension before going into the final year of a four-year, $30.4 million deal he signed in 2012. He's set to make $8.2 million in 2015.
After reports surfaced of Forte missing the workout, he posted a photo on Instagram of himself after a workout at Bommarito’s, an athletic performance center in South Florida. He addressed the reports with a post on Twitter, saying, "Relax everybody... It's called voluntary W/O for a reason. I've always been there especially when it counts!"
Relax everybody... It's called voluntary W/O for a reason. I've always been there especially when it counts!
— Matt Forte (@MattForte22) April 14, 2015Forte, 29, had a down year in 2014 with 3.9 yards per carry, but he did set an NFL single-season record for receptions by a running back with 102.
Maybe Forte, the Bears’ second all-time leading rusher behind Walter Payton, prefers working out away from the Bears’ facilities when he has the chance. Or maybe he is looking to cash in the way fellow running backs LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray and Marshawn Lynch did this offseason.
Regardless, the Bears needs his production. Since 2008, Forte leads the NFL in years from scrimmage, including 1,846 total yards last season — a number bested only by first team All-Pro backs Murray and Le’Veon Bell.