The Denver Broncos have struggled mightily to run the football through the first three games of the season, and while that can be attributed largely to the way the offensive line has played, there might be other options out there for them.
The Chicago Bears — and old friends John Fox/Adam Gase — are apparently having a fire sale in Chicago. The Bears traded defensive end Jared Allen and linebacker Jon Bostic on Monday, a signal to the rest of the league that they are either waving the white flag or are simply looking for a major culture shift in the middle of a regular season.
Right now, Chicago looks like the worst team in the league, and it wouldn’t shock me if they were looking to trade some of their best players. In fact, here’s something for you…
With Jared Allen gone, Bears should listen to offers for Matt Forte http://t.co/QhPyFE4pXE
— Jeff Dickerson (@DickersonESPN) September 28, 2015
Boy, if Matt Forte is available and the Broncos aren’t at least curious, I would be a bit surprised. At least in terms of on-field contribution potential.
Forte, who is 29 years old and in a contract year, has already played out 3 games of his base salary this season (roughly $6.5 million). The Broncos would have to do some work on the salary cap to make any acquisition like this work, but it would be something John Elway would behoove himself to do as C.J. Anderson has really struggled in the early goings of this season.
Perhaps the Broncos will continue to wait it out and see if the offensive line can get things going, but acquiring Forte would be a really intriguing proposition for this Denver team. The biggest questions you’d have to ask is whether or not it would be worth it at this point to throw a new back into the fray with Peyton Manning and whether or not the price is worth it.
And I’m not just talking about the money.
What would the Bears require for Forte at this point? A 2nd round pick? 3rd round? I really have no idea. With one year remaining on a player-friendly contract, it doesn’t seem like they would get very much for him if they wanted to simply get rid of him, but to the right team, he could be worth a lot.
Another player that would be interesting to look at in Chicago is Martellus Bennett, who had a huge year last year as a pass catcher. The only issue with trading for Bennett at this point is the fact that he has another year remaining on his contract at a price the Broncos have already agreed to pay two other tight ends.
While it might help in the interim to have another 6-6 target for Peyton Manning at the tight end position, it’s likely the Broncos would pass on the services of Bennett due to the financials.
But with very little money wrapped up in the running back position right now, it would intrigue me to see what the Broncos would be willing to give up to get Matt Forte. Obviously one of the best all-around backs in the game, Forte could be a great pickup for this year and you could see what happens at the end of the year in free agency.
It would be an expensive rental, but if anything can spark the running game or help the Broncos win a Super Bowl, I am for it. It wouldn’t be the first time John Elway tried it, either, as he nearly acquired Jared Allen in a trade two years ago with the Minnesota Vikings before, ultimately, no team was willing to pay the price for Allen’s massive cap number.
We’ll see what happens here, if anything.
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