shower me in karma

Q: With the Matt Forte talks still stalled, do you think there is any way he doesn't play for the Chicago Bears this season? We already have a viable starter in Michael Bush in the backfield.

-- Tyrone (California)

A: He's playing next season for the Bears, Tyrone; he's got no choice. The question is, how much of the season will he play? Would he skip training camp and come in? Would he skip the first 10 games of the season and come in to get the accrued season he would need for being on the roster for the final six games of the season? I'm not sure that Forte even knows how he will handle it yet -- a lot probably depends on the tenor of the talks between the two sides. But he can't go anywhere. He's franchised, and it's hard to see anyone trading for Forte and his contract at this time. In camp, some playoff contender might lose a running back to injury and decide to give the Bears a bushel of picks for Forte. But it would be a huge surprise if Forte didn't play this season in Chicago.

Q: It seems like this year there are more contentious contract talks than ever before. Whose deal is most likely to take the longest: Drew Brees, Forte or Ray Rice? Which is the most contentious deal?

-- Kerry (Maryland)

A: Oddly enough, Kerry, none of those deals appears particularly far along at this point. All three players are in discussions with their respective teams, but they appear to be making little progress. These talks can change in one day, so it's impossible to guess which deal would get done first. My sense is that the highest priority would be placed on Brees. Yet his deal still isn't done, which is inexplicable on so many levels. There's a decent chance that a couple of these situations could linger into the summer -- and we'll be discussing these issues in these mailbags for weeks to come.

Q: Adam, I'm a long-time Kansas City Chiefs fan who is concerned about the QB situation. I don't think Matt Cassel is the long-term starter. Do you think he's shown enough for the Chiefs to trust him?

-- Doris (Missouri)

A: To trust him for now, yes. He's their best option, Doris. But he hasn't sold the Chiefs long term yet. All you need to know is that the Chiefs were going to go after Peyton Manning. If they were sold on Cassel, they wouldn't have done that. That's not to say that Cassel will not have a terrific season and fully get everyone in the organization on board. But as of now, he still has to prove himself to the team. He has played fairly well, and Kansas City has won with him, but he needs to be better for the team to be committed to him long term.

Q: Hey, I'm wondering if you have any update on Adrian Peterson's recovery. Will he ready for Week 1? Starting to figure out my fantasy rankings!

-- Jerry (Minnesota)

A: He thinks he'll be ready, Jerry. But that's not the real question. The real question is how effective he'll actually be. As much of a physical freak as he is, and as much as he is pushing himself, it's still hard to envision Peterson's being the Adrian Peterson we all know. With most ACL tears, players are better the second year they return. So the educated guess would be that we see Peterson back to form in 2013. But don't completely dismiss him. He still will be one of the league's better running backs.