Mike DiNovo-US PRESSWIRE
Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte continues to be held out of practice due to the (not high) ankle sprain he suffered against the Green Bay Packers last Thursday evening.
Surprise Surprise: Lovie Smith has zero relevant information on Forte’s status.
What’s even more surprising is that Forte doesn’t even appear on the Bears’ official injury report and his status against the St. Louis Rams remains completely unknown.
Despite no one besides the Bears front office knowing where Forte is during his rehabilitation process, one can deduce how he is progressing based on a few moves the Bears have made in the past few days:
The Bears re-signed Kahlil Bell to a 1-year minimum contract. The Bears front office played a little hard ball and came out on top in this situation. Bell walked away from the Bears contract re-structure option they presented him earlier in the preseaon but strolled right back into Halas Hall probably making less than what the Bears originally offered him. I guess when the paychecks stop rolling in, a bro will do what he has to do to make that paper.
If Forte is out, then Bell will be more than adequate to spell Michael Bush for a few series throughout the game. Bell started the last two weeks of the 2011 regular season and put up some solid numbers on the ground as well as catching some balls out of the backfield.
Also, the Bears upgraded running back Armando Allen from the practice squad to the active roster in order to bolster the depth at the position. With the addition of Allen, this puts three total running backs less Forte. Any team adding depth at a position is a sure-fire sign someone at that position is either (A) about to get cut or (B) injured.
Finally, the Bears are incredibly quiet on the status of Forte. Typically, if a player is going to be alright, he will talk to the media and the coaches will blatantly come out and state the player is fine and will play in the upcoming game. However, in this situation, the public is not even afforded the luxury of a simple tweet from Mr. Forte regarding his status.
Ankle sprains can be tricky. Some folks recover from that rather quickly while it can take others weeks to get back to 100%. I know everyone in Chicago is hoping Forte is in the former category.
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