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The Bears announced this morning that they will not seek to re-sign Matt Forte to a new contract extension, meaning one of the most prolific and consistent running backs for the better part of the last decade will hit the open market.
"Despite my wishes, my days as a member of the Chicago Bears have sadly come to an end," Forte said in an Instagram post. "I was informed earlier this week from the GM that they will not be attempting to re-sign me in free agency. I will remain forever grateful for my time spent in Chicago and being able to play for an organization with such a rich history. My only regret is not being able to win a Lombardi trophy for the best fans in all of sports. I'm excited about the next chapter of my NFL career. But, Chicago will always be home."
Forte is a true dual threat -- he has 8,602 rushing yards, 64 touchdowns, and 487 catches for 4,116 yards in his career. That said, he's also 30 years old and earned $7M in salary last season.
I'd assume that the Seahawks will show no interest here, or, I should say, they will show no interest in paying him anything near what he's likely to fetch on the open market. Depending on whether they look to recoup signing bonus money from Marshawn Lynch, Seattle is still already potentially going to be taking a $5M dead money cap hit for Lynch and they have up and comer Thomas Rawls in line to assume lead-back duties. I don't think they're going to be looking to pay a veteran like Forte $3M-$5M to be a 3rd down back.
Now, that said -- if Forte wants to go ring-chasing and sees Seattle as an excellent fit, he could become a lot cheaper, and that could be a situation where I could see the Seahawks show some interest. For reference, Fred Jackson counted $900k against the Seahawks cap in 2015.
Overall, though, I highly doubt the Seahawks will look to add a higher-priced running back in free agency. It just wouldn't make a ton of sense unless they are worried about Rawls recovering from his ankle/foot injury.