Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo told WBBM-AM before Monday night's 30-24 victory at Philadelphia that the team made a multiyear contract offer to Matt Forte at the beginning of training camp, but it was rejected.
According to Comcast SportsNet Chicago, the Bears' offer to the fourth-year running back out of Tulane was more lucrative than the five-year, $32.5 million deal the Kansas City Chiefs gave to Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles.
"Matt was the only player we targeted, and we made him, in my opinion, a very lucrative offer, and it wasn't able to get done," Angelo said. "Our intent is still to have Matt play the bulk of his years in Chicago, and we'll just have to wait and see."
Forte, who accounts for a higher percentage of his team's offense than any NFL player, has been outspoken most of the season about wanting a new contract. He told "NBC Sports Talk" last Friday: "I feel like if I was on any other team ... and you then produce well enough the past four years ... that it would be easy to really get a deal done. I'm not really sure what the problem is."
The Bears could put the franchise tag on Forte next season, paying him about $7.7 million.
