5 Former Long-Time Chicago Bears Who Deserve To Be in the Hall of Fame

Lance Briggs

Brian Urlacher was the superstar of those famed Bears defenses in the 2000s. It was Briggs who the defense was funneling the runner toward to make the play.

He played weakside linebacker in Lovie Smith's defense. That was the second most important position next to the three-technique defensive tackle to have those defenses operating at an elite level. Yes, Urlacher's running all over the field made the defense special, but Briggs helped make it work.

Briggs was a star in his own right with seven Pro Bowl appearances. He also was a first-team All-Pro once and made the second time twice. He gets overlooked because while he was a star player, he played next to a generational talent in Urlacher.

Briggs could fly around the field just like Urlacher and that is why those two were so great together. Briggs played all 12 of his NFL seasons with the Bears where he made 1181 career tackles. That puts him in the Top 40 all-time in that category. He played in a Super Bowl and two NFC Championship Games. He also made 170 career starts.

The man deserves to have his Hall of Fame bust and hopefully, it gets placed next to Urlacher.

Matt Forte

He only made two Pro Bowls, but when you see the players he is compared to based on his career production, he deserves consideration. Pro Football Reference has Hall of Famers Franco Harris, Curtis Martin, and Earl Campbell as some of the player comps to Forte. He is also compared to Eddie George and Fred Taylor who should be in the Hall of Fame someday.

Forte never led the league in rushing, but he was a dual-threat running back who kept defensive coordinators up at night. He ranks 30th all-time in yards from scrimmage with 14468 during a 10-year career with eight being played in Chicago.

In 2014, he caught 102 passes for 808 yards and four touchdowns. He also added another 1038 yards and six touchdowns on the ground that season. He did not make the Pro Bowl or get named to the All-Pro team that season!

He did make the Pro Bowl in 2013 when he had 1933 total yards. He rushed for 1000 yards in five of his eight seasons with the Bears. He never had a season below 1000 total yards except during his final season when he was with the New York Jets.

Forte is in the same boat as Tillman and Hilgenberg in that he will need the Senior Committee to review his career to get Hall of Fame consideration.

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