One week is left for young running back Matt Forte and defensive end Cliff Avril to sign a long-term deal. Were the holdouts to get out of hand could the Chicago Bears actually deal with Detroit to exchange the two?
Detroit Lions have bigger needs at running back than defensive end
It sounds like a broken record but tough contract talks are just part of typical business in the NFL. Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith said it's like "pulling teeth." About as good an analogy to have if there was one. Two young stars who have learned this over the last few months are Bears running back Matt Forte and Lions defensive end Cliff Avril. Both are coming off a Pro Bowl season and want their contracts extended. The problem is Chicago and the Detroit Lions have different prices in mind. Now the deadline for getting a deal done is not far away. Each side has until July 16th to ink a new contract or Forte and Avril will have to play under their franchise tag contracts. Forte would make $7.7 million, a major raise from his $600,000 rookie contract. Avril will get even more at $10.6 million. The trouble is the two are in holdouts and history shows those can turn ugly and force teams to trade players before they become locker room problems. A more interesting question is would the two teams trade with each other.
Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery offer a new Bears future
The Chicago Bears are in the middle of an identity swing on offense. For decades their trademark was great running backs and game-control offense. New general manager Phil Emery seemingly threw that out the window the second he took over the front office. His two biggest additions to the team in the draft and free agency were wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. Paired with quarterback Jay Cutler Chicago may have its first dangerous passing attack. Jeffery, a 6'3" man from South Carolina has already made it clear he's only interested in learning to become a pro, especially under the wing of the 6'4" Marshall. Few have asked the searching question of where Forte fits in this new offense. While fans and teammates want him back the Bears have a rare chance to sacrifice him for help in more pressing areas. That's where the Avril trade idea becomes interesting. Detroit hasn't had a running back anywhere close to Forte since Barry Sanders retired and having him would instantly take pressure off their star quarterback Matthew Stafford. By the same token Chicago would get a 25-year-old pass rusher in Avril. Together with rookie Shea McClellin the team has two building blocks for the future and the badly need help for All-Pro Julius Peppers.
Inter-division trades don't happen often but Matt Forte for Cliff Avril makes some sense for the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. Chicago has new plans for Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery while Detroit needs reliable talent in the backfield. The Lions have pass rushers to spare while the Bears sorely need them. Not an easy deal but one that could help both teams.
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Comments: 4
The question is that both players are unlikely to approve such a trade unless each of their future teams are committing to a long-term deal. It's a possibility even after 7/16, as the CBA says that only the Bears cannot sign Forte to a LTD and only the Lions cannot sign Avril to a LTD after 7/16. However, the Bears can sign Avril and Lions can sign Forte to long term deals anytime.
But, the question is that if both teams are not willing to sign their own players to a LTD, why would they turn around and offer the other team's player a LTD just to approve this potential trade.
From the Bears' perspective, what happens to Peppers? Bringing in Avril now would seem to be putting a large roadblock in front of Emery's first 1st-round draft pick. For political reasons, I don't see that happening. As things stand now, there is no guarantee that McClellin will be starting by week 1 anyways.
Also, Michael Bush is no Matt Forte. Nate Burleson said it best on the NFL Network a couple of weeks ago. Opposing teams need to game plan against Forte, they don't game plan against Bush, though.
Ever since Cutler arrived three seasons ago, the Bears have been giddy about "new-look" pass-oriented offense. This happened even with Ron Turner as the OC. And each season, the team learns that the only path to an efficient NFL game plan is to rely on Forte and the running game heavily. Even in last year's 5-game winning streak before Cutler's injury, they game planned Cutler out as he was averaging only 220 yards per game. I am not sure that adding a wide receiver that was on the trading block for nearly a year with no takers is going to be the magic bullet to passing nirvana.
The other unspoken issue is what impact would a move away from a ball-control offensive scheme have on the defense. The last time Cutler and Marshall were together, the large number of targets for Marshall was due in no small part to the fact that the Broncos' defense that year was perhaps one of the worse in the history of the NFL. Despite the gawdy passing numbers, that team finished 8-8, missing the playoffs in a weak AFC West.
Again, I am not so sure that Lovie Smith or Mike Tice have completely bought into the latest version of the "new Chicago Bears."