Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune discusses the exit of running back Matt Forte. In doing so he exposes the real reason for Forte’s exit:
“Behind Langford, Ka’Deem Carey made strides in 2015, first earning greater opportunity as a special teams contributor, then seeing flashes of work in the backfield. Carey’s burst remains his most noticeable strength, and the Bears are hoping he’ll use that to compete for the No. 2 role.”
Many people will point to the emergence of Jeremy Langford as the primary reason for Forte’s exit. But the Bears will almost certainly continue to run a back field with two backs and having depth at the position is a must.
In addition to Carey, Wiederer mentions the presence of Jacquizz Rodgers and Senorise Perry. These three men, all of whom are hard runners and all of whom contribute on special teams, are the reason why the Bears didn’t want to spend money, even at a fair price, on Forte. Carey’s emergence as a special teams contributor, in particular, probably did as much as anything to determine Forte’s fate with the team.
None of these four men are the equal of Forte (I loved Steve Rosenbloom‘s parting comment in his column: “Tip to Langford: Don’t drop a pass.”). But the Bears apparently like their running backs. Add the possibility that they may find that a another one is the best available player in the fourth or fifth round again and they have a glut at the position. It’s a shame that it led to the departure of one of the most professional players on the team in Forte but it’s still a nice problem to have.