Former Bears and Jets running back Matt Forte is hanging up his cleats and walking away from football, he announced on Wednesday.

Forte, drafted out of Tulane with a second-round pick by Chicago back in 2008, announced the news through Sports Spectrum's Jason Romano.

Forte leaves football just shy of 10,000 rushing yards, finishing with 9,796 rushing yards, 8,602 of which came with Chicago. Forte finished as the second-leading rusher in Bears history behind Walter Payton.

He was part of a running-back revolution in the late aughts, one of many backs in a surge of second- and third-round picks who changed the NFL by dominating as both a rusher and a receiver.

As CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco would say, Forte is an "air back" and a perfect fit for the modern game.

During six of his 10 NFL seasons, Forte registered more than 50 receptions and he never caught less than 30 passes in a season (his lowest total was in 2016, his first season with the Jets). 

He was considered on the chopping block during the Jets' veteran purge before the 2017 season, but ultimately stayed on the roster and -- rather correctly -- pointed out the Jets were not tanking despite opinions to the contrary.

Forte's run in New York was just an encore to what he put on the field with Chicago, though, as he established himself as one of the game's best dual-threat weapons during his run with Chicago.

In seven of his eight season with the Bears, Forte totaled more than 1,400 yards from scrimmage. He played well enough to warrant a four-year deal from the Bears in 2012 that was scheduled to pay him more than $8 million per year.

Forte never led the league in rushing attempts or rushing yards, but he was always one of the most consistent and underrated performers in terms of his ability to pile up yards and serve as a feature back: Forte toppled 1,600 yards from scrimmage four different times during his run with the Bears.