New York Jets

Jets firmly believe in Matt Forte to deliver in 2016

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The New York Jets made an interesting move over the weekend regarding their running back situation. With a surprise release, they firmly believe running back Matt Forte is ready to deliver big results in 2016.

Over Labor Day Weekend, the New York Jets finalized their roster to ensure they hit the 53-man mark before the deadline. Tough decisions were made but at the end of the day, head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan finalized the Jets’ roster with hopes of fielding the best possible team this upcoming season.

The Jets decided to waive running back Khiry Robinson due to his broken leg injury. It was a surprising move since all offseason long, it seemed the Jets would launch a three-headed monster at running back. Led by Matt Forte, the ideal situation was Bilal Powell would back him up, and Robinson would be able to add a nice dimension to the backfield.

Forte brings an incredible presence to the Jets’ offense with his speed, route-running, and ability to plow through defenders. He brings it every single time he’s on the gridiron with his only drawback being his health. Forte is still dealing with a nagging hamstring injury but all signs point that he’ll be good to go come Week 1 of the regular season when the Jets welcome the Cincinnati Bengals to MetLife Stadium.

Powell is no stranger to the spotlight in the grand scheme of things. He was the catalyst on offense last season that gave a nice jolt to keeping the NFL Playoff hopes of the Jets alive. Robinson was projected to help spell relief at the position for both but since the Jets waived him, looks like they are putting all their eggs into Forte’s basket.

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If Forte can be healthy in 2016 with the Jets, he’s easily an upgrade over running back Chris Ivory.

So far in his career, Forte has totaled 8,602 rushing yards, 2,035 rushes, and 45 touchdowns.

Forte is entering a golden situation with the Jets as he has the ability to bring his “workhorse” mentality to a team that is designed to be a rush-oriented offense in 2016.

The Jets cut Robinson since they probably figured Forte would receive the majority of reps at the position and shouldn’t miss a beat.

Since the Jets were carefully monitoring him all offseason long to ensure he was healthy and ready for the long season ahead, he’s been rested for this very moment. It’s no secret the Jets have a tough schedule ahead but if Forte can deliver, their offense will absolutely be a force to reckon with.

Overall, expectations are high for a team coming off a 10-6 season that came just within a game from making the postseason. It’ll be even harder this time but maybe, just maybe, Forte could be exactly what the Jets need to face these early obstacles and prove the critics wrong.

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