Chicago Bears guard Kyle Long ended 2016 on the injured reserve. He also ended 2017 there as well. Now he’s headed in that direction for the rest of 2018, too.
Long suffered a foot injury during the Bears last game – a 24-10 win against the New York Jets. It’s expected to keep him out for six to eight weeks. So it might not be quite bad enough to merit going on the IR.
Sources: #Bears standout G Kyle Long is out 6-8 weeks with a foot injury suffered on Sunday. He’s getting more info, but that’s best estimate right now. A tough loss for that offense on the field and in the locker room.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 30, 2018
However, there is a bit of a middle ground. The NFL allows for each team to place two players on IR but activate them so long as they’ve missed at least eight weeks with said injury. If the Bears believe they’re a playoff team – and there’s really no reason to think otherwise – they could put him on IR, but designate him as a player to return. Thus, assuming he has no setbacks, he’d be able to make it back on the active roster just in time for the playoffs.
Long, whose dad, Howie, was a longtime Oakland Raider pass-rusher-turned-pregame-personality, is currently in the third year of a four-year, $40 million contract with Chicago.
The 29-year-old lineman stayed healthy his first three years in the league, playing in 16, 15, and 16 regular season games, respectively.
For the most part, he’s lived up to expectations as a first-round draft pick (taken 20th overall in 2013 out of Oregon). He was the All-Rookie Team in his inaugural season and second-team All-Pro the year after. But injuries have taken their toll as he’s missed a combined 14 games the past two seasons. And that number of missed games is about to go up.
