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Bowen: Forte Shouldn't Hold Out

(WSCR) With Matt Forte's contract a hot-topic of conversation, a potential hold-out could be coming.

Forte accounts for nearly half of the Bears offense, but holding out for a new deal may not be the best idea.

"I think players usually separate the business side from the football side," Matt Bowen of The National Football Post and Chicago Tribune told The Boers and Bernstein Show on Monday. "I experienced that as a player, playing with guys who didn't show up at the beginning of camp. Everyone wants them there. They don't come out and say it and they don't get involved in their business when you're talking about dollar signs, but they want them there. And for a guy to take a step back during the season and just suddenly not show up for practice one day, I think that'd be a major problem, I really do. I don't think you'd have the guys' support anymore because these games are too hard to win as it is. You take away Matt Forte away from this football team and they are in deep, deep trouble."

LISTEN: Matt Bowen on The Boers and Bernstein Show

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Though players may not come out and say they're upset, Bowen said there would be hidden animosity.

"I think they would agree (to the media) but I don't think they'd really think that," Bowen said. "I think they'd be furious. They're trying to get back into the playoffs, into this race. They just won two games in a row. ... I know from a player's side, they might not say it to the media, but when they're in their meetings and he's not there, they'd be upset."

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