Chicago Bears: Making the Hall of Fame case for Matt Forte

Despite the lack of national recognition throughout his career, Matt Forte was a great running back who deserves Hall of Fame votes when eligible in 2023

Over his ten year NFL career, Matt Forte was one of, if not the most complete running back in the entire league. When the Chicago Bears decided to not resign him, he went to the New York Jets to finish off one of the most underrated careers in NFL history.

During his eight years in Chicago, no player had more total yards from scrimmage (12,718). Only three more players had more rushing yards (8,602) and no running back had more receptions (487).

Forte finished his playing days with the Jets, adding another 1,750 total yards from scrimmage before he signed a one-day contract in April 2018 to retire as a Bear.

Despite his fantastic numbers, he only received two invites to the Pro Bowl and never made an All-Pro team. Why is this?

It is certainly not due to a lack of consistency. Other than his final NFL season, he finished every year with over 1,000 total yards from scrimmage.

It isn’t due to any glaring injury concerns. Forte missed 14 games in his career, and in the 146 games he played in, he was the starter for 137 of them.

The reasons? For one, his prime years were played when the division rival Minnesota Vikings had a prime Adrian Peterson who won an MVP. So, Forte was often overshadowed.

In addition to that, the lack of team success often weighs heavily on media attention. The Bears only made the playoffs once during Forte’s tenure, and the Jets never even touched them.

It happens all the time; great players on bad teams get under-appreciated due to team failures. Football is a team game, but Forte always did his part.

Chicago Bears

But even when he caught 102 passes out of the backfield in 2014, he didn’t get an invite to the Pro Bowl. Even though that number set a record for the most receptions by any running back in a single-season, still no invite.

The record didn’t last long though, as Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey caught 106 passes last season. But without Forte, is there a Christian McCaffrey?

Probably. But to say that Matt Forte didn’t help pave the road for the McCaffreys or Le’Veon Bells and any other dual-threat running back is nonsense.

So despite playing on bad teams, despite being in a division with arguably the greatest back of the decade, Matt Forte has a solid case to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio. Will he be first ballot? Probably not, but he’s worthy of getting inducted during his eligibility.

Under-appreciated by many, Forte’s career was one that demanded respect and recognition. It’s well past the time to give it to him, and in 2023 and beyond, it will be time for the voters to step up and put his name in.