Kyle Long isn’t quite a Chicago Bears legend. He is more like a Bears folk hero. He’s one of the few characters who stood out both on and off the field during the darkest period of football the organization has seen in the past few decades. While every other position seemed to flounder, Long was there putting together strong seasons at guard. A three-time Pro Bowler who was both a powerhouse and an athletic freak.
Sadly those days appear to be gone. Long is only 30-years old which isn’t too bad for an offensive lineman. The problem is his body seems more like that of a 50-year old. This is due to a string of injuries he’s suffered since back in 2016. They include ankle, shoulder, foot, and finger issues. Many of which required multiple offseason surgeries to correct. He hasn’t played a full season in three years. Now the possibility is growing that 2019 will be the fourth.
The right guard appeared on the injury report this week dealing with a hip issue. The fact he went from practicing in full to not practicing at all suggests it might be serious. Bears coaches have declared him questionable for the game on Sunday against Minnesota yet the prevailing feel is he likely won’t be able to give it a go. Another unfortunate setback for the embattled veteran.
Yet the evidence of his decline isn’t just in regards to the ongoing health crisis. It’s starting to appear more and more often on the field as well.
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Kyle Long has lost a lot of his usual effectiveness
The most recent game against the Washington Redskins was the latest indicator that the Long fans remember might be gone. It was not his best performance by any stretch of the imagination and there were multiple video clips to back up that he’s lost something. Here are a few examples to illustrate how alarming the problem is.
Exhibit A:
This is the first pass play of the game. It’s 3rd and 2 so it’s not an obvious passing situation. Matthew Ioannidis, who keep in mind did not have a sack or hit on the quarterback in his first two games, delivers a straight bull rush. Long is immediately out-leveraged and driven backward almost into the lap of Mitch Trubisky, who still manages to complete the pass for a first down.
Exhibit B:
This time it’s 1st and 20, so an obvious passing situation. This time Ioannidis comes with something called a “hump move” where he uses his right arm to hoist under Long’s left side and literally throws him off balance, providing a free lane into the backfield. Trubisky had barely hitten his back step before the defender was on top of him. The Bears are fortunate this wasn’t a safety.
Exhibit C:
This time Ioannidis tries the hump move again. Long is ready for it this time but still isn’t able to drop his anchor and is driven into the backfield by straight power. Trubisky is flushed to his left and forced to unload the ball out of bounds for an incompletion.
Exhibit D:
Stop if this seems familiar. This is the final pass play of the game, but the result is no different. Ioannidis (yep, still him) goes for the hump again. Again Long is ready for it and again it doesn’t matter. His inability to hold his ground causes him to be driven deep into the pocket. Thankfully Trubisky was able to work through his progressions fast enough to find Javon Wims for the crucial first down that put the game pretty much on ice.
It’s never easy to admit that a once-great player like Long has become a liability. Yet the proof is there. He’s not playing well and he’s not healthy again. Add into the fact he turns 31 in December and it is a growing possibility the Bears may not wish to retain his $9.6 million salary cap hit in 2020. Perhaps he could still turn it around, but that hope is fading.
