Nfl rushing touchdown leaders all time11/30/2023 ![]() Even after he got that second deal, he rarely missed a game. ![]() He stayed healthy for most of his career, but he also played through injuries that would’ve knocked out other players. His versatility, and reliability, was why Forte was so valuable, regardless of which offensive coordinator he played under. And that comes from running the ball, from screen plays, to mismatches to being involved in the passing game.” The running back, I think, it’s so valuable, because when you have a young quarterback who’s trying to be developed, or even a veteran quarterback, they can take lot of pressure, whether it be from the blitz or from them being inexperienced, and the running back position helps them. “People use it, you know, not really knowing what that term, even means. “That ‘passing league’ crap, it sounds nice,” he said. The way Forte sees it, everyone loves a reliable running back, the guys who can run, catch and block in any system … until it’s contract time. It’s a long wait until the next CBA, so if running backs want to see a change, they’re going to have to do something, right?Īnd as for the state of running backs in the NFL, don’t get Forte started on the disrespect. And I bet you they’ll stop franchising guys.” So they pay you $10 million, $12 million for zero production. ![]() You sign a franchise deal and you sit out. “And if they franchise you, you use that leverage. “You hustle and you play your hardest to get to that second contract,” Forte said. I feel like for this year specifically the best thing I can do for myself would be coming back, going out there playing the game I love,” he said.įorte’s advice for young running backs is know your worth and don’t be afraid to play rough when it comes to your money. “What’s the best thing that I can do … sit out or sit in. He’s coming off a season in which he played 16 games and compiled 1,650 yards from scrimmage. And so that’s the only leverage you have.”īarkley, who had knee surgery in 2020, agreed in theory and talked about sitting out the entire year before camp but he told reporters he had an “epiphany” and decided to play it out, despite being unhappy with the contract he was offered and the one-year deal he decided to take. You have got to treat your body and your career as a business as well. Because the team treats it as a business. And, you know, they can say what they want, the media, they (might) want to bash the player, but you have to use that as a business tactic. “And so if you (get) the franchise tag and you go into the building, you can lift weights and you practice with the team and stuff. ‘Oh, he’s not the same player, you know, we’re gonna get rid of him.’ “Because for him to get $11 million on a one-year deal, and then he plays under that contract and gets injured, you know, the team is liable to cut you the next year, because you’re not healthy, or the year after that once you get healthy. “Saquon, in my opinion, I think he should have stayed under the franchise tag and just not played and do what my buddy Ryan Clark says, you do a ‘hold-in,’” Forte said. He wouldn’t have advised Barkley to take a one-year deal for $11 million, that’s for sure. But Forte hasn’t changed much at all since retiring in 2017. So, I wanted to know, what would Forte do if he were in Barkley’s shoes? Retirement can make athletes see the present with green-tinged glasses. It’s nothing that Forte didn’t deal with over a decade ago. “I was ready to go the distance,” he said. And he was ready to make a contractual stand after getting franchise-tagged and before he got a four-year, $30.4 million deal done with the new Bears GM Phil Emery. He tried to return but missed the last four games of the season, the first ones he missed in his career, but he still finished with 1,487 yards from scrimmage, which was the 10th-best total in the league.įorte wouldn’t get paid until just before training camp opened in 2012. In 2011, Forte was leading the NFL in all-purpose yards through 12 games when he went down with a right knee sprain. “Pay the man,” receiver Roy Williams said in the locker room. If Jay Cutler was polarizing, Forte was universally admired, by fans and his teammates. Like, what else what do you want me to do?” “It was like everybody (sitting behind the) end zone had ‘Pay Forte’ t-shirts on, and I scored and literally froze,” he said. It was vintage Forte while he was still in his prime. He turned a screen pass into a 56-yard touchdown, he juked Dunta Robinson out of his shoes on a long run. As you might recall, in the opener that year, Forte compiled 158 all-purpose yards in a decisive win over the Atlanta Falcons. ![]() “I wasn’t going to sign a bad deal for under my worth,” he said.Īnd thus began the “Pay Forte” season of 2011. ![]()
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