Michael Bush has signed a contract with the Chicago Bears, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. The deal is for four years, with $7 million guaranteed and total potential value of $14 million.

The Bears are obviously trying to upgrade the offense in a “win now” move, adding this to the Brandon Marshall trade from last week. This also signifies a couple of other things.

The market for Bush wasn’t what he would have liked. He’s never been the full-time starter, and will be 28. Last year, his yards per carry dropped to 3.8 as he had the most carries of his career with McFadden injured (256). The chance to be the lead guy never materialized.

Also, this likely means more insurance against Forte, who has been franchised, and likely the end of Marion Barber III, who was just signed last year. It also means that the Bears will not need to draft a running back early in the draft, as was projected in our recent mock draft, this year to create leverage with Forte. Bush is capable of carrying the ball 200+ times for the next two seasons. While it may impact the Forte negotiations, it also probably saves him some wear and tear late in games, especially coming off last year’s injury.

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