New England Patriots: Is Matt Forte a good fit?
By Nick Ziegler
It will be back to the drawing board for the New England Patriots this offseason after their season was ended by the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
The Patriots’ offense was certainly one of the best in the league last season, as few teams have talent like Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Julian Edelman. With a dominant passing offense, the Patriots were very one-dimensional in 2015, and may have missed a player like Shane Vereen.
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Vereen left the Patriots last offseason to sign with the New York Giants, but he was a big part of the Patriots winning the Super Bowl in 2014. In typical Patriots fashion, they struck gold with Dion Lewis in 2015, as he filled in the role of Vereen very nicely.
Unfortunately for Lewis and the Patriots, he had his season cut short due to a torn ACL. In 2015, Lewis totaled 234 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 36 receptions, and 388 receiving yards in seven games.
The Patriots ranked 30th in the NFL last season in total team rushing yards, which was only better than the Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers. Even with their great weapons on offense already, the Patriots have to think about improving at the position heading into 2016.
With Lewis recovering from his ACL surgery, the Patriots are going to be in need of a running back in 2016, and there is a veteran who makes a lot of sense as a possible free agent this offseason.
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Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears has been one of the best running backs in the NFL over the past few seasons, and at 30-years-old, he could possibly be leaving Chicago as a free agent this offseason.
The Patriots haven’t run the ball too much in recent years with their great passing attack, but Forte could give them a running back with the potential to rush for 1,000 yards, and also be a huge part of the passing offense.
In 2013, Forte totaled 102 receptions for the Bears, as he is considering one of the best receiving backs in the NFL, and would fit in nicely with Brady. In eight seasons, Forte has accumulated some very impressive stats, as he has totaled 8,602 rushing yards, 45 rushing touchdowns, 487 receptions, 4,116 receiving yards, and 19 receiving touchdowns.
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While playing with the Bears, Forte was asked to pretty much to it all in their offense, and the move to New England would not only be beneficial for Forte, but also for the Patriots. 30-years-old is generally the time when running backs begin to fade in the NFL, and with Forte’s heavy workload in the past eight seasons, he likely will begin to see his skills diminish soon rather than later.
The price for Forte will likely be the key issue if the Patriots are to pursue him, but if Forte is willing to take a little less to play with a winner, then this could be a great match for the two.