Last Friday afternoon, we learned that Bears’ starting right guard Kyle Long had a setback (with respect to his hip injury) that would ultimately make his availability on Sunday a game-time decision. Unfortunatly, that decision was not the one we were hoping to see, and Long sat out against the Minnesota Vikings.
In his place, the Bears started Ted Larsen, who, himself, was injured during the game (knee) and replaced by Rashaad Coward (who filled in nicely). But still … an injury to your team’s top reserve interior lineman wasn’t the best news, given the general trouble the offensive line was in already. And as recently as earlier today, we weren’t quite sure where this story was headed:
Matt Nagy wouldn't say whether Akiem Hicks or Kyle Long will practice today.
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) October 2, 2019
Fortunately, some time after Nagy made us nervous with some additional uncertainty, Long found his way to NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales to reveal that he would be suiting up for this Sunday’s London contest against the Raiders.
Check it out:
.@ChicagoBears G Kyle Long told me, “yeah I’m back… I’m back this week”. (From the hip injury that kept him out of last week’s game vs. MIN).
— StaceyDales (@StaceyDales) October 2, 2019
The Bears still have a number of key players banged up at the moment, from quarterback Mitch Trubisky to defensive tackle Akiem Hicks to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel, but slowly and surely (first Roquan Smith, now Long) they’re getting guys back. Hopefully, with enough time, we’ll see a healthier Bears squad ready to suit up overseas.