Tag: Kyle Long

Former Chicago Bear star Kyle Long shares his thoughts on Caleb Williams

One former Chicago Bear is intensely interested in how Caleb Williams will perform in the Windy City.

Former Chicago Bear Kyle Long wants his old team to succeed. Caleb Williams holds the keys to the Bears’ future. Kyle Long offered his thoughts on Caleb in the video you can see below.

Kyle Long cares passionately about the Bears. Like most Bears fans, he thought previous Chicago coach Matt Nagy was a disaster.

Via Bears Wire:

“It’s been about three and a half years since Kyle Long last played for the Chicago Bears but he’s sharing interesting details about his departure from the team and it wasn’t pretty.

“The former offensive lineman spent seven years with the Bears before he was unceremoniously placed on injured reserve following a Week 5 loss to the Las Vegas/Oakland Raiders during the 2019 season and never played a down for the navy and orange again. Long hinted at what had gone down near the end of the year in some tweets.”

Here is Kyle Long on Caleb Williams. Bears fans will find this very interesting.

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What former Bears players believe the team should do with Justin Fields this offseason

Former Bears Lance Briggs and Kyle Long discussed Justin Fields and whether the team should build around him or move on this offseason.

Justin Fields’ future in Chicago is one of the biggest storylines from what’s been a disappointing 2023 season.

The Bears are trending toward having the top two selections in the 2024 NFL draft — between their own selection (No. 2) and the Panthers’ pick (No. 1). With Chicago trending toward being in a position to select first overall, USC quarterback Caleb Williams has been a hot topic.

Williams is considered by many to be the consensus top quarterback in the 2024 draft, where some have gone as far to call him a generational talent.

There’s been a debate among Bears fans whether the team should draft Williams or trade the pick away, if it comes to it. But what do former Bears players think?

Former Bears linebacker Lance Briggs and guard Kyle Long believe that the team should opt to build around Fields rather than draft Williams, if they get the No. 1 pick.

“I’m not taking Caleb Williams,” Briggs said on ESPN 1000’s The Chicago Bears Podcast. “…I have a Caleb Williams on my team right now. Why am I going to go get another Caleb Williams and have the same problems I have right now?”

Briggs admitted that, if he was going to replace Fields, he’d go with a different style quarterback — a pocket passer. Still, Briggs a

“I’m not replacing (Fields). I’ll have another first-round pick the next year,” Briggs said. “I’m going (offensive) line.”

Long shared his thoughts on what the Bears should do with Fields beyond this season. And he believes Chicago already has a solid foundation in Fields — but hte team needs to invest in building around him.

“If we’re going to build this things, we’re going to build it around something,” Long said on the BFR Podcast. “You don’t just put a house in a field. It’s on a foundation. And the foundation that this team — and I’m projecting here to next year — the foundation that this team is being built on is Justin Fields. And you need to do whatever you can to make that as strong a foundation as you can with offensive pieces on the edge and then, to your point, in the line.”

The fact that it’s former players — who have been in these kinds of situations — agreeing the team needs to build in the trenches speaks volumes.

There’s still 11 games left this season — although Fields is currently sidelined with a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand — but it’s safe to say this will continue to be a hot topic for the duration of this season and heading into the offseason.

Kyle Long nearly quit Bears at halftime vs. Raiders following blowup with Matt Nagy in 2019

Kyle Long shares new details about his Bears exit in 2019 after their game against the Raiders that included a verbal spat with Matt Nagy.

It’s been about three and a half years since Kyle Long last played for the Chicago Bears but he’s sharing interesting details about his departure from the team and it wasn’t pretty.

The former offensive lineman spent seven years with the Bears before he was unceremoniously placed on injured reserve following a Week 5 loss to the Las Vegas/Oakland Raiders during the 2019 season and never played a down for the navy and orange again.

Long hinted at what had gone down near the end of the year in some tweets and later revealed the Bears placed him on injured reserve due to his ineffectiveness on the field thanks to wear and tear on his body after so many years.

The decision wasn’t exactly Long’s choice, but he understood the nature of the business after struggling in that game against the Raiders. Now years later, Long shared exactly what went down that led to his departure and it’s a lot uglier than initially thought.

Speaking during a live broadcast on the Green Light Podcast, hosted by his brother Chris, Long revealed he nearly quit the team at halftime of that game after head coach Matt Nagy chewed him and his teammates out.

We were playing the Raiders and we were getting our asses whooped and we were in [the locker room] at halftime. Our head coach Matt Nagy, God bless him, he looks at the o-line and says ‘you guys are playing like some gutless, quiet [expletive]’ and he’s staring me in the eyeballs.

I stood up in the middle of the halftime and I just walked out. I made it about 50 yards down the hallway, and you know how long those hallways are, and our security guard goes ‘Kyle, come on man. Not like this.’ I had to ride eight hours home in first class on the way home. Because I’m a starter, they got me up with the coach. I sat across the aisle from Matt Nagy and his wife for eight hours the whole way.

They told me ‘do not come back to the building.’

 

Nagy’s message may not have been appreciated, but the team did show more fight in the second half of that game after being chewed out. Down 17-0 at halftime, Chicago scored 21 points in the third quarter, but fell at the end of the game, losing 24-21. Since leaving the Bears, Long has taken shots at Nagy on multiple occasions. It became clear he wasn’t a fan of the former Bears head coach, but this revelation took that notion to a new level.

Long retired following the 2019 season for one year and came back in 2021 to play with the Kansas City Chiefs, then hung up his cleats for good in 2022. Even though it’s been years since he and Nagy have shared a locker room, he still has strong feelings about how he was let go from the Bears.

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Former Bears OL Kyle Long praises Justin Fields: ‘He’s a freak of nature’

Former Bears OL Kyle Long gushed over Bears QB Justin Fields after seeing what he can do on the field and in the batters box.

Throughout his Chicago Bears career, former offensive guard Kyle Long has always had his quarterback’s back, both literally and figuratively.

After being drafted in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft, Long was tasked with protecting former Bears quarterbacks such as Jay Cutler and Mitchell Trubisky in his seven seasons in Chicago.

Long publicly defended both of them on multiple occasions, while also working to keep defensive linemen from bringing them to the ground. He’s someone who will publicly back his teammates, no matter what the criticism might be.

But Long couldn’t help but gush over the newest Bears quarterback after seeing what he can do on the field, and in the batters box.

Long tweeted his support of Bears quarterback Justin Fields after a video of him and his teammates taking batting practice at Wrigley Field during an off day activity was posted. When Fields was up, he launched a ball into the stands, causing his teammates to go nuts.

“I’m gonna drop everything I’m doing this instant to say that this kid is more than just an extremely high ceiling QB,” Long tweeted with the video. “He’s a freak of nature. I’m all in on him now.”

Long, a former baseball prospect himself, knows what it takes to be a high-level athlete and has played and seen some of the best to ever do it. He grew up in a family of all-star athletes and knows a great talent when he sees it.

While Fields did play baseball back in high school, he stopped playing when he went to college at the University of Georgia, though he was heavily recruited by the school’s program. Clearly his ability to excel at multiple sports impressed Long.

The 33-year old lineman never crossed paths with Fields on the football field. He last played for the Bears in 2019 before being released the following offseason. He briefly retired but returned for the 2021 season and joined the Kansas City Chiefs, though he never played a snap for the team.

Long has a history of defending his quarterbacks but doesn’t owe the Bears or Fields anything. The fact he went out of his way to praise the 23-year old should make Bears fans feel good, while also pine for Long to occupy the vacant right guard position. Just don’t expect the latter to come true.

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Latest update on Chiefs’ COVID-19 situation heading into Week 17

The #Chiefs had some Reserve/COVID-19 activations on Monday, along with some practice squad transactions.

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to trend in the right direction when it comes to their COVID-19 situation. A trio of players including rookie LB Nick Bolton, RT Lucas Niang and OL Kyle Long each appear to have cleared the NFL’s COVID protocols. All three were listed as activated by the team in their reported transactions on Monday.

Bolton and Niang were technically activated on Saturday in hopes they could test out of the protocols on Sunday, but they were ultimately ruled out for the game. Long formally saw activation from the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday per the NFL’s official personnel notice.

In addition to the activations for the 53-man roster, the team restored WR Gehrig Dieter to the practice squad. Dieter was one of three practice squad players dealing with COVID-19. In a corresponding move, the team released P Joseph Charlton from the practice squad.

The following players still remain on the Reserve/COVID-19 list:

  • CB Rashad Fenton
  • DB Armani Watts
  • K Harrison Butker
  • P Tommy Townsend
  • LB Darius Harris (PS)
  • WR Daurice Fountain (PS)

Travis Kelce was technically among the players activated on Saturday, but he’s yet to formally clear the NFL’s COVID protocols to our knowledge. He is still tracking to be cleared for Week 17 and that could come any day now. The Chiefs don’t resume practice until Wednesday.

On a day where the NFL saw a record-high number of players placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the Chiefs didn’t have any players added to the list. It signals their outbreak is in the past and that the team shouldn’t have anything more than isolated cases moving forward.

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4 more Chiefs players placed on Reserve/COVID-19 list

The #Chiefs have even more COVID issues, with a total of seven players being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday.

The Kansas City Chiefs placed a total of seven players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday.

News broke early that the Chiefs had placed WR Tyreek Hill, TE Blake Bell and CB Rashad Fenton on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. According to the NFL’s official personnel notice, four more players will join them. That group includes rookie LB Nick Bolton, RT Lucas Niang, DB Armani Watts and OL Kyle Long.

In total, the Chiefs currently have 14 players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, including one practice squad player. Here is the full list of players currently on the Reserve/COVID-19 list:

  • WR Josh Gordon
  • DL Chris Jones
  • LB Willie Gay Jr.
  • WR Gehrig Dieter
  • CB Charvarius Ward
  • TE Travis Kelce
  • K Harrison Butker
  • WR Tyreek Hill
  • TE Blake Bell
  • CB Rashad Fenton
  • LB Nick Bolton
  • RT Lucas Niang
  • DB Armani Watts
  • OL Kyle Long

That group includes seven players who are considered starters by the team on either offense and defense. It also includes several key depth players. This is the most players that the Chiefs have placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list in a single day since the pandemic began.

Again, the good news for the players placed on the list on Tuesday, is that the new return-to-play protocols for COVID-19 apply to them. Should each player be vaccinated and asymptomatic, they need just one negative test before the team is permitted to activate them from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Previously, players needed two negative tests taken 24 hours apart in order to be activated.

That means several of these players still have a chance to play on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Arrowhead Stadium for Week 16.

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Chiefs activate OL Kyle Long to 53-man roster from Reserve/PUP list

The #Chiefs have activated OL Kyle Long to the 53-man roster from the Reserve/PUP list at the deadline.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have officially activated OL Kyle Long from the Reserve/PUP list according to the NFL’s personnel notice for Tuesday.

Long, 32, signed with the Chiefs out of retirement this past offseason on a one-year deal. The former Chicago Bears draft pick didn’t play in 2020 as he rehabbed from a series of injuries suffered in 2019. Just as he was hitting his stride and getting into the swing of things with Kansas City, Long suffered a knee injury during OTAs. That injury sidelined him throughout training camp and ultimately landed him on the Reserve/PUP list.

Today was the deadline for the Chiefs to activate Long after the team opened his practice window back on November 9th. He practiced for two weeks and then had the bye week off, but the training staff got a good look at him in that span. If the team hadn’t chosen to activate Long today, he’d be out for the remainder of the season without playing a snap for Kansas City.

So what’s next for Long and the Chiefs? At the time of his injury, Long was the starting right guard for the team. That position is currently locked down by rookie Trey Smith, so it’s unlikely that he resumes a starting role at that position. It’s possible that Kansas City gives Long a look at the right tackle spot, but with the bye week, Lucas Niang could be healthy enough to resume his role as a starter.

The most likely scenario is that the Chiefs keep Long on the bench for the time being. They’ll have him available as valuable depth for the stretch run in the final six games of the regular season and into the playoffs. You never know when injury can strike, so having the veteran available to fill in should be advantageous for Kansas City.

In order to make room for Long, the team placed both RB Jerick McKinnon and DT Khalen Saunders on injured reserve. McKinnon suffered a hamstring injury on the opening kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11. Saunders has been dealing with a knee issue since Week 7.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury updates ahead of Week 13

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided a few injury updates on Monday, addressing injuries on the offensive line and Tyrann Mathieu’s status after the knee issue in Week 11.

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Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid addressed the media for the first time since his postgame chat with reporters after the win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11.

While Reid prefaced his presser by saying he wouldn’t have a full rundown of the injuries until later today, he did provide a few key updates on some players dealing with injuries. He started by addressing the concerns on the offensive line, speaking on right tackle Lucas Niang who has missed the past two games with a rib injury suffered in Week 9.

“Yeah, well, he was making good progress prior to the bye,” Reid said of Niang. “I’ll get a report today on him. So, I think there’s a chance he’s ready. I can’t tell you until I see him.”

The Chiefs also have another decision to make on the offensive line, with Kyle Long’s 21-day practice window slated to expire on Tuesday. The Chiefs must either activate him to the 53-man roster or choose to send him to injured reserve for the remainder of the season. The latter would mean that Long will have never played a snap for Kansas City this season.

“Yeah, so listen, he’s worked his tail off during his recovery time here,” Reid said. “We’ll see how all of that goes here. We’re sorting through all of that today, but I appreciate having him here and doing what he’s been doing too and how he’s handled it. So, we’ll make the decision — and I leave that up to Brett (Veach) and the doctors and that — but we’ll make that decision here today.”

Reid didn’t seem to tip the team’s hand one way or the other, leaving room for both scenarios. We might not see the team’s decision for Long transpire on the transaction report until tomorrow.

Finally, Reid provided a brief update on Tyrann Mathieu, who played through swelling in one of his surgically-repaired knees against the Cowboys in Week 11.

“He came out, actually, OK,” Reid said of Mathieu. “He was able to push himself through, which was amazing. I mean, he’s a tough kid, so tough-minded. That also carries over to the defense. Our players knew that he wasn’t quite where he wanted to be. He didn’t really say anything, just kind of pushed himself through.”

Mathieu seems no worse for wear after pushing himself to play in Week 11. That’s a positive because they’re going to need the defense at full strength for the final six games of the season.

Overall, this team is in a good spot after the bye week, with the majority of Chiefs players entering the final six-game stretch healthy.

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Breaking down Chiefs’ options at RT with Lucas Niang, Mike Remmers injured

The #Chiefs have a lot of options to consider at the right tackle position with Lucas Niang and Mike Remmers ruled out with injury

The Kansas City Chiefs received some disappointing news on Friday, learning they’d be without their top-2 options at the right tackle position in Lucas Niang and Mike Remmers.

Niang started the first five games of the season, but he was benched after his Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills. Mike Remmers filled in for the next two games before suffering the knee injury that currently has him sidelined. Niang replaced Remmers against the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers. He suffered a rib injury in the first quarter, which has him sidelined for Week 10.

Below you’ll find a quick look at several of the options who can fill in for Niang and Remmers while they’re injured, ranging from most likely to least likely to start against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night:

Chiefs HC Andy Reid’s provides updates on injured players on Friday

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid’s ruled out Mike Remmers and Lucas Niang, he also didn’t sound too confident that Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Kyle Long would be activated this week.

The Kansas City Chiefs look like they’ll be shorthanded on the right side of the offensive line for “Sunday Night Football” against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Reid ruled out both Lucas Niang and Mike Remmers. Neither player practiced this week, with Niang dealing with a rib injury and Remmers dealing with swelling in his knee. Both players have earned starts at the right tackle position so far this season, but last week when Niang left with injury it was Andrew Wylie who filled in. The team could be looking at a start from Wylie this week with both Niang and Remmers ruled out.

Two players returned to practice this week for Kansas City, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire being designated to return from injured reserve and Kyle Long opening his practice window from the Reserve/PUP list. Andy Reid was encouraged by what he saw from each player, but he didn’t seem too confident that either would be activated to the 53-man roster this week.

“Yeah, no listen, he looked good,” Reid said of Edwards-Helaire. “He worked hard. It’s kind of just getting back into the flow of things. So, that’s where we’re at. He did a nice job with it.”

Asked directly whether Edwards-Helaire would be activated for Sunday, Reid left the possibility open, but also said it would be “a stretch.”

“Yeah, we’ll see,” Reid said. “He worked all week. I would tell you that it’s probably a stretch, just to throw that out there to you, but if he does don’t hold me accountable on that.”

Speaking on Long, Reid suggested he was in the same boat as Edwards-Helaire this week.

“He did kind of the same thing as Clyde (Edwards-Helaire),” Reid said of Long. “He worked in there. He rotated in with the offensive linemen. It’s just a matter of making sure he’s in good football shape. The same type of deal.”

If Long is anywhere close to ready to play, the Chiefs might not have much of a choice but to activate him given their injuries on the right side of the offensive line. The Raiders have a potent pass rush with over 80 pressures between Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue. They’ll need all the help they can get to keep Mahomes clean in the pocket.

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