Kyle Long

Kyle Howard Long (born December 5, 1988) is a former American football guard who played all seven years of his professional career with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Florida State University, Saddleback College, and the University of Oregon, switching from defensive end to offensive line at Saddleback. Long was drafted by the Bears in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.[1][2] and has played both guard and offensive tackle.

Kyle Long
Long in 2019
No. 75
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born: (1988-12-05) December 5, 1988
Ivy, Virginia
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:332 lb (151 kg)
Career information
High school:St. Anne's-Belfield School
(Charlottesville, Virginia)
College:Oregon
NFL Draft:2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Games started:76
Games played:77
Player stats at NFL.com

Long is a three-time Pro Bowl (2013–2015) and one-time second-team All-Pro (2014) honoree. He is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long and the younger brother of retired defensive end Chris Long.

Early years

Long was born in Ivy, Virginia. He attended St. Anne's-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Virginia. He played both baseball and football. He was selected to the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[3] He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 23rd round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and honored his commitment to Florida State University.[4]

College career

In January 2009, Long left Florida State for academic reasons following an arrest for DWI.[5] In 2010, Long enrolled at Saddleback College, a community college in Mission Viejo, California, and returned to playing football. During his first year he played defensive end, recording 16 tackles and one quarterback sack. In 2011, he switched to the offensive line. On December 18, 2011, he committed to play for the Oregon Ducks football team, and subsequently transferred to the University of Oregon.[6] During the 2012 season, he started six of twelve games for the Ducks on the offensive line. He appealed for an extra year of college eligibility, but his appeal was denied by the NCAA.[7]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 6 1⁄8 in
(1.98 m)		 313 lb
(142 kg)		 33 3⁄8 in
(0.85 m)		 11 in
(0.28 m)		 4.94 s 4.63 s 7.83 s 28 in
(0.71 m)		 8 ft 11 in
(2.72 m)
All values from NFL Scouting Combine[8]

Chicago Bears
Long in a game against the Washington Redskins

Long was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 20th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.[9] He was the first guard to be drafted by the team in the first round since Roger Davis in 1960.[10] Long signed on May 17, the last member of Chicago's 2013 draft class to do so.[11]

Long attended the rookie minicamp from May 10–12, but missed much of the offseason program due to a league rule prohibiting rookies from working out until their college class graduates. He returned to team activities on June 17.[12] Long started the 2013 season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals at right guard, becoming the first rookie in team history to start a season opener at the position in the Super Bowl era.[13] On January 8, 2014, Long was named to Pro Football Focus' All-Rookie Team.[14] He was subsequently named to NFL.com's All-Rookie Team on January 15.[15] On January 20, 2014, he earned a spot in the 2014 Pro Bowl due to the injury of original Pro Bowl left guard Mike Iupati in the 2014 NFC Championship Game.[16] Long became the first Bears rookie to make the Pro Bowl since Johnny Knox in 2009.

He made the Pro Bowl again following the 2014 season and was also named as a second-team All-Pro guard.

At the start of the 2015 season, Long made the switch from guard to tackle. He started all 16 regular season games in 2015 and was selected to his third consecutive Pro Bowl.

On March 10, 2016, the Bears signed right tackle Bobby Massie from the Arizona Cardinals, and Long was moved back to guard.[17] On April 15, 2016, the Bears exercised the fifth-year option on Long's rookie deal, a move that would have kept Long under his original contract through 2017.[18]

On September 7, 2016, Long signed a four-year $40 million contract extension with the Bears through 2021.[19]

Long suffered multiple injuries during the 2016 season. He played the first seven games of the season with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.[20] He missed the Bears' Week 8 contest against the Minnesota Vikings due to a strained triceps.[21] Long then severely injured his right ankle two weeks later against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was carted off the field.[22] He was placed on injured reserve on November 15.[23]

On December 5, 2017, Long was placed on injured reserve after aggravating a shoulder injury in Week 13, while also being bothered by ankle and finger injuries throughout the season.[24]

Long started the first eight games of the 2018 season, but suffered a foot injury in Week 8 against the New York Jets and was ruled out 6–8 weeks just a few days later. He was placed on injured reserve on November 3, 2018.[25] He was activated off injured reserve on December 29, 2018.[26]

Early in 2019, Long suffered a hip injury that forced him to miss the Week 4 game against the Minnesota Vikings.[27] Although he returned for the following week's Oakland Raiders game, the injury persisted and he was placed on injured reserve on October 14.[28]

Long announced his retirement from professional football on January 6, 2020.[29] The Bears declined his contract option for 2020, making him an unrestricted free agent on March 18, 2020.[30]

Personal life

Long is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long and the younger brother of retired defensive end Chris Long.

Long is also a part-owner of esports team MODE Motorsports in the eNASCAR iRacing World Championship Series.[31]

References
  1. "NFL Draft Scout". NFL Draft Scout. September 21, 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  2. "CBS NFL Draft". Cbssports.com. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  3. url=http://www.usarmyallamericanbowl.com/players/
  4. "Chicago White Sox Draft Kyle Long". Newsplex.com. June 6, 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  5. Barnes III, Lindsay (January 8, 2009). "Kyle Long, son of Howie, busted for DWI, leaves college". The Hook. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  6. "Kyle Long commits to Oregon". Dailyprogress.com. December 18, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  7. Miller, Ted. "NCAA denies Oregon OG Long's appeal". Espn.go.com. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  8. "Kyle Long Draft Profile". National Football League. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  9. Farrar, Doug (April 25, 2013). "Chicago Bears select Oregon OT Kyle Long with the 20th overall pick". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  10. Mayer, Larry (April 29, 2013). "Who was last guard Bears picked in first round?". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  11. "Bears Sign Four-Year Deal With Draft Pick Kyle Long". WBBM-TV. May 17, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  12. Mayer, Larry (June 20, 2013). "Long thrilled to rejoin fellow rookies at Halas Hall". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  13. Mayer, Larry (September 5, 2013). "Kyle Long focusing on task at hand". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  14. Mayer, Larry (January 8, 2014). "Long named to PFF All-Rookie Team". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  15. Brandt, Gil (January 15, 2014). "Eddie Lacy, Keenan Allen, Ziggy Ansah make All-Rookie Team". National Football League. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  16. Biggs, Brad (January 20, 2014). "Bears' Jennings, Long named to Pro Bowl". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  17. Dickerson, Jeff (March 10, 2016). "Chicago Bears' Kyle Long embraces move back to right guard". ESPN. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  18. Tribune, Chicago. "Bears exercise contract option to keep Kyle Long through 2017". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  19. Mayer, Larry (September 7, 2016). "Long inks new deal through 2021". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  20. Schefter, Adam (September 11, 2016). "Bears guard Kyle Long to play season with torn labrum in left shoulder". ESPN. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  21. "Bears' Long, Sitton out for Vikings game because of injuries". USA Today. October 31, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  22. Neveau, James (November 14, 2016). "Kyle Long Out for Rest of Season: Report". NBC Chicago. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  23. Mayer, Larry (November 15, 2016). "Bears put Long on IR, activate Wilson". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017.
  24. Mayer, Larry (December 5, 2017). "Bears put veterans Long, Unrein on IR". ChicagoBears.com.
  25. Mayer, Larry (November 3, 2018). "Bears place Long on IR, promote Mizzell". ChicagoBears.com.
  26. Mayer, Larry (December 29, 2018). "Roster Moves: Long activated for regular-season finale". ChicagoBears.com.
  27. Finley, Patrick (September 29, 2019). "Bears' Akiem Hicks, Roquan Smith, Kyle Long out against Vikings". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  28. "Bears put Kyle Long on IR, promote Abdullah Anderson". The Washington Post. AP. October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  29. "Bears guard Long, 31, 'stepping away' from NFL". ESPN.com. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  30. "NFL Transactions March 2020". NFL.com. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  31. https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/racing-news/48725-kyle-long-and-mode-motorsports-to-join-the-enascar-peak-antifreeze-iracing-series
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