Kyle Long’s stint on injured reserve might not be a season-ending one:
Nagy on Kyle Long recovering from foot injury: "He's coming along good. He's out of his boot. Could be a possibility [he returns this season]. We'll just have to see."
— Larry Mayer (@LarryMayer) December 13, 2018
It doesn’t sound like Matt Nagy is ready to make any promises regarding Long’s potential return, but he comes off as cautiously optimistic about the possibility. At minimum, there is enough progress being made that Nagy is even entertaining the idea of a return. Through that lens, this is an encouraging development.
Long suffered a serious foot injury at the end of the team’s win against the New York Jets on October 28, was seen riding a scooter and wearing a protective boot two days later, and was placed on injured reserve on November 3. Nearly a month after Long landed on IR, Bears GM Ryan Pace offered some optimism and called Long’s return “a real possibility.” Judging by the words shared by his head coach today, the possibilities of Long’s return are growing.
So here’s the situation: Long can start practicing as early as next week and could return to the active roster for the regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings. With a Week 17 return not being out of the question, it’s possible that Long could re-join his teammates for a potential playoff run. Should the Bears clinch a postseason berth as early as this weekend, there is a chance the team could work Long back into the swing of things in Week 17 without major postseason implications hanging in the balance. That would be an ideal scenario for Long, the Bears, and fans who have been pining for playoff football since for far too long.
Of course, the Bears have business to take care of starting on Sunday against the Packers in order for that dream to become a reality.