NEWSLETTER
Kyle Long’s injury-ravaged season could be coming to an end. And not in a good way.
Chicago Bears Head Coach John Fox told reporters Monday at Halas Hall that shutting down the injured guard for the rest of the season is a possibility. Long played just 16 snaps in the team’s 15-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, but did not play at all in the second half. Long discussed his injury status after the game, saying “I jacked up my shoulder pretty good” according to ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson.
Long’s 2017 has been wrecked by injuries, but it hasn’t stopped him from making a full effort to play as much as he can. The three-time Pro Bowl lineman entered Sunday playing through five known injuries, including a banged up shoulder, a broken hand, and an ankle problem that has led the Bears to list him on the injury report for maintenance days on a handful of occasions this year. Despite his injury woes, Long has battled through to play 431 snaps in 10 games (nine starts).
Long was replaced by Tom Compton, who returned to the lineup after nursing an ankle injury of his own. Sunday marked Compton’s return to the active 46-player game day roster. Compton had been inactive since Week 8 when he played on 91 percent of the team’s snaps in place of Long, who suffered a broken finger on the Bears’ first offensive drive.
If the Bears make the move to put Long on IR, Hroniss Grasu could join the active game day roster on Sundays. Chicago could dip into its practice squad and call up offensive linemen Cameron Lee or Brandon Greene.
