Dolphins free agency rumors: Miami interested in Matt Forte

The Miami Dolphins are expecting to see starting running back Lamar Miller sign with another team during free agency, which begins this afternoon at 4pm Eastern time. The question following a departure by Miller will be whether or not the team believes second-year runner Jay Ajayi is ready to take over as the starting running back, or if the team will need to sign a veteran free agent to take over the top spot on the depth chart. According to a tweet from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, it could be the latter:

Among the teams interested in veteran RB Matt Forte: The #Jets and #Dolphins. His market will heat up when the other RBs sign.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2016

Forte to the the Dolphins is an obvious connection, given the ties to new head coach Adam Gase. Miami hired Gase in January after he spent a year as the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator, where he coached Forte. The 30-year-old Forte ran for 898 yards on 218 carries with four touchdowns last season, while catching 44 passes for 389 yards and three scores. In his eight years with Chicago, who selected him in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft, Forte has 8,602 rushing yards with 45 touchdowns and a 4.2 yards per carry average. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2011 and 2013.