Bears running back Matt Forte is prepared to "move on" if Chicago doesn't offer him a new contract, according to NFL reporter Chris Wesseling.
"There's nothing I can do, really, except play football," said Forte, via the NFL. "The decision on whether I stay or whether I go is not really up to me. It's whether I get offered a contract extension, which I haven't been offered one and doesn't really look like it (will happen). If not, I go into free agency. So I'm pretty much satisfied with either way it goes."
Forte has had a difficult season in Chicago, as the Bears were reportedly seeking to trade him before the deadline, and he suffered an MCL sprain against the Minnesota Viking on Nov. 1. Despite the issues on and off the field, Forte has continued to lead this Bears team and is the leading rusher this season with 592 yards and two touchdowns.
Forte will be 30 years old before the end of this season, and the running back position tends to decline after a player hits 30. That doesn't mean that Forte can't be successful somewhere else, and he will likely get plenty of offers across the league. The emergence of rookie running back Jeremy Langford could be a major reason why the Bears decide to let Forte walk after this season.
The Bears rookie running back has rushed for 298 yards and six touchdowns this year, and he has shown he can be a dual threat out of the backfield. Langford has 16 receptions for 232 yards and a touchdown, and he is most likely to become the Bears' next starting running back in 2016.
Forte will garner plenty of interest around the league and has shown that despite his age, he has plenty left in the tank. Prior to this season, Forte had rushed for a 1,000 plus yards in each of the three previous seasons, and has consistently been a dual threat out of the backfield with over 469 receptions in in eight seasons. The Bears have not offered Forte a contract extension at this point, and it doesn't look like they will before the season is over.
