Longtime Bears running back Matt Forte announced Friday that he won’t be returning to Chicago in 2016.
Forte said via Instagram that Bears general manager Ryan Pace informed him the team won’t re-sign him this summer, and the Bears confirmed the report in a statement.
Last year, ESPN’s E60 profiled the eight-year NFL veteran, detailing his connection to Bears great Walter Payton.
Forte leaves the Bears ranked second all time in franchise rushing yards, behind only Payton. His 64 total touchdowns rank third after Payton and Neal Anderson.
In his first game in the NFL, Forte rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown and went on to rank fourth among all running backs with 1,238 rushing yards that season.
He rushed for a career-high 205 yards and a score in a 2012 win over the Panthers, and scored his final rushing touchdown in a loss to the Redskins Dec. 13.
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Stats via Pro-Football-Reference