The Chicago Bears have signed Jacquizz Rodgers to a free agent deal and while there has been some Matt Forte trade talk this season, a deal is very unlikely at this point and it comes after the team also decided to not trade quarterback Jay Cutler and heading into the draft names like Amari Cooper, Todd Gurley, Dante Fowler, Marcus Mariota and Kevin White could be potential targets.
According to NFL.com, the Bears met with Rodgers last week and signed him to a short term deal that will add depth to the running back position. Rodgers has explosive speed and is just 25 years old and in his career he has over 1000 yards and five touchdowns in four seasons with the Falcons. The Bears have some concerns with Forte's age and how much he has been used over the past few years, as he has over 2,000 touches in seven seasons in Chicago, according to NFL.com stats.
The Bears have Matt Forte on the roster along with Ka'Deem Carey, but John Fox likely will look at adding more depth this offseason at the position. According to Michael C. Wright at ESPN.com, Forte came up in trade rumors earlier in the offseason, but the Bears were not close to trading him away at that time. Forte is going to be 30 this season and is coming into the final year of his contract and that is why he was connected to some of those rumors.
According to NFL.com, the Bears signed Rodgers, who as a free agent after the Falcons opted not to re-sign him. The Bears also may look at the draft as a way to add some cheap depth, as Rodgers was one of the best among names like Steven Jackson, Knowshon Moreno, Pierre Thomas, Stevan Ridley and Knowshon Moreno left on the free agent market. Rodgers could give the team an explosive option in the backfield along with Forte, who had over 1000 yards and 100 catches last season while playing for Marc Trestman.
The draft also offers the opportunity to add another solid player, as the RB position is considered deep in this class. Gurley likely will not be on the board past the second round, but names like Tevin Coleman, Duke Johnson, Jay Ajayi, Ameer Abdullah and Melvin Gordon could stick around for a bit. The Bears come into the offseason after winning just five games in 2014 and they have a top 10 draft pick for the event this year.
According to ESPN Chicago, the team likely will consider a wide receiver at the pick after trading away Brandon Marshall, while names like Marcus Mariota, Vic Beasley, Shane Ray and Randy Gregory have also been mentioned as options. Michael C. Wright at ESPN reports that Amari Cooper, Kevin White and DeVante Parker are potential WR targets for the Bears.
Last season the team benched Jay Cutler in Week 16 and that put his future up in the air, but he is set to return for 2015 for new head coach John Fox. The team brought back Jimmy Clausen and opted not to trade Cutler, but Fox said that Cutler will have to prove himself this offseason. Cutler has had some strong seasons with the Bears and while he put up good numbers overall last season, the results on the field were not good enough.