Marion Barber Fantasy News

Monday, December 26, 2011, 1:52pm

Reading between the lines, Marion Barber is going to have an awful hard time holding off Kahlil Bell as No. 2 back next season.

RB Marion Barber inactive for Bears
Sunday, December 25, 2011, 7:50pm

Chicago Bears inactives for week 16:

DT Anthony Adams
RB Marion Barber
QB Jay Cutler
QB Nathan Enderle
RB Matt Forte
T Levi Horn

Report: Marion Barber expected to miss Week 16
Friday, December 23, 2011, 11:13am

Running back Kahlil Bell is set to make just his second career start against the Bears' biggest rival.

Veteran Marion Barber is expected to miss Sunday's game against the Packers in Green Bay with a calf injury, according to a league source. That leaves Bell as the primary ball carrier because Matt Forte still is sidelined with a sprained right knee.

Coach Lovie Smith expressed confidence in Bell as the starter.

"There are bigger concerns I have, and Kahlil is not one of them,'' Smith said Thursday. "I vividly remember his first carry he had at Soldier Field (a franchise-rookie record 72-yard run). I see him every day in practice going against our No. 1 defense.

"He can make you miss in the open field. He can run with power inside. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. I'm excited about the opportunity he has.''

Monday, December 19, 2011, 2:52pm

17 Week 15 snaps for Marion Barber.
43 for Kahlil Bell.

Thursday, December 8, 2011, 10:39am

Marion Barber and Kahlil Bell will share the workload against Denver.

Bell acknowledged that it’ll be tough to replace Matt Forte.

“I’m confident in my abilities to play the game,’’ Bell said. ‘‘I feel like I can catch the ball. If they need me to do that, I’m going to do that to the best of my abilities. I’m not going to try to be anybody else that I’m not.”

Bell did note, though, that he and Caleb Hanie have had plenty of time to work together because they were on the scout team the last two seasons.

Bears RB Forte to miss at least 2-4 weeks
Monday, December 5, 2011, 8:20am

Bears running back Matt Forte went down with a sprained medial collateral ligament that is likely to keep him out for 2-4 weeks, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The paper points out that Forte has no incentive to rush back to a team that hasn't shown a lot of interest this season in giving him the contract extension he desires.

With only four games left in the season, Forte may be done for the season. If so, he'll finish it with 997 yards rushing and three touchdowns along with 52 receptions for 490 yards and another touchdown.