REVIVAL TACTICS
Nagy puts onus on himself to get Bears back on track, but his obstacles are mounting
Bears guard Kyle Long has had a starcrossed career in the NFL, but you can’t say he was cursed more than he was blessed as a football player.
The son of Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long, Kyle would be the first to acknowledge the bloodlines, upbringing and guidance of family and friends that nurtured his wayward path to the NFL far outweigh any of the trials, disappointment and heartache that followed.
Still, there was a sense of sadness among those who had been with him since his NFL start with the Bears in 2013 that it appears to be over so quickly — at the very least for another season and likely with the Bears after seven seasons.
A career that started with three consecutive Pro Bowl berths in 2013-15 but was shortcircuited by a series of debilitating injuries — labrum, triceps, ankle, hand, shoulder, foot — is in jeopardy after the Bears put Long on season-ending injured reserve Monday with a hip injury. It is the fourth consecutive season Long has gone on IR.
‘‘It’s the tale of the league for you,’’ offensive tackle Charles Leno said. ‘‘He’s been through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, and that’s just how the league goes. You never know when that time is going to come. His happened so fast, so abrupt. It’s like: ‘Damn. He’s not going to be here.’ So it just sucks. That’s how I look at it: It’s just gonna suck.’’
As Leno related from a conversation he had with Long after the IR decision was made, Long seemed to acknowledge the end of his tenure with the Bears.
‘‘This is his words: He said he’s a Bear for life,’’ Leno said. ‘‘[Those are] the words I remember him saying. That’s how he wanted to end things.’’
Unlike in previous seasons, there was no singular incident of injury that put Long on IR.
‘‘There’s wear and tear,’’ coach Matt Nagy said when asked how the injury occurred. ‘‘He’s been in the league a little while, too. It’s something that, for him — for where we were at — it was the best decision we can make. It was collaborative for all of us.’’
Rashaad Coward, an undrafted free agent signed as a defensive tackle in 2017 but converted to offensive line in 2018, appears to be first in line to replace Long after starting in his place at practice Monday.
Long’s career with the Bears is far from tragic. He’s a three-time Pro Bowl player who signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension with $30 million in guarantees in 2016. But you couldn’t blame him for cursing his luck. Long, the 20th overall pick out of Oregon in 2013, was at his best when the Bears were bad (8-8, 5-11 and 6-10 in his Pro Bowl seasons). When the Bears became a contender, he wasn’t the same player after all the injuries.
If this indeed is the end of his Bears tenure, Long’s legacy is that he was a team player. He was one of the best guards in the NFL when he agreed to switch to tackle in Week 1 in 2015 to fill a void. He always backed quarterback Jay Cutler. He never cracked when dysfunction ended the Phil Emery/Marc Trestman era. And he took a pay cut last year to stay with the team.
And, once upon a time, Long was among the best players in the NFL with a bright future.
‘‘He was dominant,’’ Leno said. ‘‘When he was healthy and he was on, he was a dominant football player. I told him plenty of times: ‘Get back to that [2013, 2014, 2015] self.’ It just sucks because so many times he would try to get back to it and had to take a step back. When injuries compile, it’s just really [crappy].’’