ChicagoBears.com reports that Lovie Smith said, “Cedric was our starter last year, and he’s our starter right now. For someone else to be the starter, they’re going to have to beat him out.” Full story here.

Monster Take: Coach Smith has a history of sticking with the incumbent - think Rex Grossman. Matt Forte or one of the other backs will need to show something this summer to take the job. We think Forte’s got a real shot at doing it, maybe tempered a little by Smith’s penchant for sticking with the incumbent longer than many probably would.