Nothing has really changed in the overall picture of Matt Forte's contract situation - well, aside from the "I want to be highly paid, but not necessarily the highest paid, because I want to be respected as an awesome running back" conversation he had with the NFL Network this week.
But Jay Cutler was on with Waddle and Silvy on ESPN 1000 yesterday and, wrapped around promotion of his own new weekly radio show, stated his opinion that Forte would be at training camp on time.
"I would be shocked if he doesn't sign his tender by July 15, or whenever it is, and he shows up. It would really be a surprise to me (if Forte misses any training camp)," Cutler said. "At the end of the day, I think Matt knows it's business. He's still getting seven-whatever-million dollars to play this year. So he's gonna show up."
We've hashed this out on a pretty much bi-daily basis - will he show, will he not show, will he sign, will he not sign, et cetera, et cetera... though it does appear the franchise wants him to sign the tender and come in to continue negotiation of a long-term deal.
Teammates have voiced support for Forte in his efforts to receive a new contract, while the organization has remained largely silent -- although it did, according to sources, reach out to the running back to continue talks, with the caveat of that hinging on him signing the franchise tender.
Though for what it's worth, apparently Forte's keeping himself in solid shape for camp...
Cutler visited with Forte approximately three weeks ago, he said, and the running back appeared to be in top physical condition.
"He was huge, all ripped up," Cutler said. "I was like, 'What do you do?' (He said,) 'All I do is go to the weight room. I've got nothing else to do.' I think he misses being there, misses the camaraderie. He's got to do what he's got to do, and we'll get him when we get him."