The Chicago Bears have a lot of decisions to work through once the 2019 season mercifully comes to an end. Among the most pressing is figuring out how to rearrange their salary structure. It’s obvious they have to tweak their roster after a disappointing finish. For that they’ll need as much money and draft picks as they can scrape up. A big way they’ll do this is determining which contracts on the payroll might need removing. Among the names that will be discussed is Kyle Long.
The veteran guard ended up on Injured Reserve for the fourth-straight season due to hip issues. A sad demise for a player that was once one of the best at his position in the NFL. However, if you talked to Long himself it doesn’t seem like he agreed with the decision to go on IR. When asked by a fan on Twitter about coming back, his reply sent a fairly loud and clear message. One that involves his future status with the team.
Kyle Long seems to see the writing on the wall
By the look of things, Long isn’t dumb. The moment he was placed on IR by the team rather than allowing him to continue playing told him all he needed to know. His time in Chicago was drawing to a close. The Bears wanted to get a head start on finding his replacement. That may sound cruel but this is the cold business of football. Teams don’t have time to get sentimental about these things. They must move on quickly.
Cutting Long would net the team $8.1 million in cap space. It feels like a fairly straightforward decision at this point. That’s not easy to say given how beloved the offensive lineman is by Bears fans. It is the reality though. Things may yet change. Perhaps he takes a massive pay cut to stay. That doesn’t seem likely though. Long will either choose to move to a different team or could even retire.
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