Matt Forte will return to the starting lineup on Thanksgiving night for the Chicago Bears after missing the past three games. However, he will not resume his workhorse role.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday on NFL GameDay Morning that Forte will be "the starter in name only."
"He is expected to be the starter -- mainly because of his veteran status -- but I am told he will be the starter in name only," Rapoport said on NFL Network. "The plan is to have a two-headed monster, two rotated backs, because Jeremy Langford did impress and inside the organization, they believe that he is the future at running back.
"And in fact, not just the future but the present because they think he is better suited for this offense and more explosive. That 83-yard screen pass ... he took to the house (in Week 10), they think for Forte that would have just been a 30-yarder."
Prior to his injury in Week 8, Forte had accounted for 32.0 percent of the Bears' scrimmage yards this season, the highest percentage of any running back in the NFL.
In his first two weeks replacing Forte, Langford displayed a dual-purpose capability, earning 324 yards from scrimmage. Last week the rookie back was stymied by the Broncos' superb front.
Given Langford's film the past few weeks, it's not hard to understand the Bears' excitement about the young player's explosive ability.
Forte's return will make it murky for fantasy football owners, but it's become clear that Langford is the long-term workhorse. With the optimism surrounding the young back, we are likely inching toward the end of the underappreciated Matt Forte-era in Chicago.
