Chiefs go Long, Bears go with Dalton
(AP) — The Chicago Bears announced a oneyear contract with former Cincinnati and Dallas quarterback Andy Dalton as well as one-year deals with safety Deon Bush and offensive lineman Germain Ifedi on Wednesday.
Dalton is due $10 million and could earn an additional $3 million in bonuses. The three-time Pro Bowler signed with Dallas last May to back up Dak Prescott after getting released by Cincinnati and wound up making nine starts and playing in 11 games after Prescott was injured. The Cowboys finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Dalton has thrown for 33,764 yards, 218 touchdowns and 126 interceptions. He set several Bengals passing records over nine seasons but he never led them past the first round of the playoffs. Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was Cincinnati’s quarterbacks coach in 2016 and offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018.
Bush has made just eight starts in five seasons. But he has emerged as one of the Bears’ better special teams players.
Ifedi made 16 starts for Chicago last season — 10 at right guard, then six at right tackle — after playing his first four years for Seattle.
The Bears made the playoffs despite going 8-8 in the regular season for the second year in a row and got knocked out in a convincing wild-card loss at New Orleans.
Long comes back
(AP) - The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to a $5 million contract for next season with three-time Pro Bowler Kyle Long, who will come out of retirement to help their rebuilt offensive line, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday night.
The Chiefs also agreed to one-year deals to keep running back Darrel Williams, linebacker Ben Niemann and defensive end Taco Charlton, sources told The AP. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the deals have not been announced.
The Chiefs tendered wide receiver Byron Pringle and offensive lineman Andrew Wylie as well.
Long, whose deal was first reported by ESPN. com, went to three consecutive Pro Bowls with the Bears before injuries derailed his promising career. First came an ankle injury in 2016, then neck, shoulder and elbow injuries that hampered him the following season. In 2018, it was a foot injury that sidelined Long midway through the season, and a hip injury during the 2019 season landed him on injured reserve for what appeared to be the final time.
But after spending last season doing studio work for CBS, Long decided to make a comeback this offseason. He had visited with the AFC West-rival Raiders before agreeing to a contract with the Chiefs.
Earlier this week, they agreed to an $80 million, five-year contract with former Patriots offensive lineman Joe Thuney, giving them a pair of former Pro Bowl selections to anchor general manager Brett Veach’s reshaped offensive line.
Kansas City was decimated by opt-outs and injuries last season and was ultimately exposed by Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl, making the boys protecting Patrick Mahomes an offseason priority.