The Chicago Bears are preparing for a big matchup against the Denver Broncos and will need their offense to play their best game if they stand a chance at beating one of the league's best defensive units. That is going to rest on the shoulders of Jay Cutler as he gets at least one familiar face back on the field. Matt Forte appears ready to play for Week 11, but his role on the team is unknown right now.
According to ESPN's Jeff Dickerson, Forte has returned to practice in a limited fashion following a knee sprain. The veteran told the media he was at about 80 percent which means he could be active come the game against the Broncos. But what will his role be? The Bears have been benefitting from a breakout performance from Jeremy Langford who has been the best offensive producer over the past two games. Head coach John Fox did not seem too concerned about the issue.
"In this league, it's about the more the merrier," Fox said, via ESPN.com. "You try to build competition within your own team. I think it makes everybody on your squad better. We'll welcome Matt back with open arms. This is all tricky. I don't like speculating. I know we're doing everything we can here to create competition amongst our team and learn to enjoy it. So we'll cross that bridge when it happens."
Forte has been nothing but supportive of the breakout games from Langford. The veteran simply said that he wants the Bears winning games which they are doing right now. However, Forte is in the final year of his contract and the rise of the rookie means he falls further out of the picture. The running back has tried to deny that he is forcing himself on the field in order to help his contract situation, but it is clearly on his mind. For Forte, he says the bigger thing he is concerned about is staying healthy.
"That's (a factor), if not the most important factor -- the future," Forte said, via theTribune. "Because if you go out there for one game and then ruin the rest of your season and maybe your career, then that's a big factor. There's a lot of football left to be played. So you don't want to chance it for one game. That's a lot of it."
The Bears would love to get Forte back against the Broncos. According to Dickerson, Eddie Royal was not at practice and is not expected to play on Sunday. Alshon Jeffery was limited in practice as the most important players could be Martellus Bennett and Zach Miller going forward.
