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Sunday 19 February, 2012 |

Bears will discuss what plans are prior to the Feb. 20 franchise

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The president of the Bears Jay Cutler Jerseys Ted Phillips and Phil Emery, who is the general manager of the team, have not said that the intention of the Bears is to apply the franchise tag. However, Ted Phillips made it clear that the Bears are not going to let Matt Forte test the free agency, which begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 13.And Matt Forte is looking at the franchise tag. The next development in the contract saga of Matt Forte could take place next Monday when the league allows teams to apply the franchise tag to players, if the sides don't put together a contract extension soon. The teams are able to apply the tag from Feb. 20 through Mar. 5 at 4 p.m. ET as a method of preventing a player from exploring the open market. According to the reports from "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000, Ted Phillips told the reporters that they would like sign with Matt Forte to a new deal. However, when Phil Julius Peppers Jerseys Emery pointed out that it is clear that they are going to at least think over placing the franchise tag on Matt Forte. The Bears don't have any intention of letting Matt Forte hit the open market. The Bears are going to sit down with him privately and discuss what the plans are prior to the Feb. 20 franchise tag date. Over his introductory press conference on Jan. 30, Emery called the franchise tag a tool which has been collectively bargained. Based on the expected franchise tag values for 2012, the tool the general manager discussed is going to be much more teams friendly this year than in previous ones. As opposed to the past when the tender was determined by taking the average of the top five salaries of the NFL at each position, the franchise tag value for 2012 is calculated as a percentage of the overall salary cap figure for the previous five years, For we all know that the franchise tag value for a running back in 2011 was $9.6 million. However, it is expected to fall to $7.7 million in 2012. Part of the rationale of Forte for not signing the contract the team offered prior to last season was the fact it was worth less than the franchise tag yearly and would have locked him into a multiyear pact that paid less than that number on a per-year basis. Matt Forte revealed that if the Bears Johnny Knox Jerseys made full use of the franchise tag, there is a big possibility to have a holdout in January. However, Forte turned down the only contract offer of the club, which was worth $13 to $14 million guaranteed. However, he has since softened that stance.

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