Long Opens Up About the End, Welcoming Roberson, Options for Prince, and Other Bears Bullets

As I searched for something to make for Sunday’s Super Bowl party, I found myself looking for inspiration from my friend Jim’s website. Between the short-rib chili and buffalo chicken meatballs, there are some darn good options.

The Bears made their signing of Tre Roberson officially official on Wednesday night:

https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1222679176555180032?s=20

It is a two-year pact for Roberson, who has thrived as a cornerback in the CFL after starting his college career as a quarterback at Indiana before moving on to finish at Illinois State. Roberson joins a crowded position room that includes two-time Pro Bowler Kyle Fuller, established starter Prince Amukamara, nickel defender Buster Skrine, and youngsters trying to break out such as Kevin Toliver II, Duke Shelley, Stephen Denmark, Michael Joseph, and Xavier Crawford (who signed a futures contract earlier in the offseason). That is plenty of bodies, but there is no such thing as too much secondary depth.

Yesterday, we discussed the fallout of the Roberson signing. Clearly, there will be no shortage of competition at the cornerback position this summer.

While answering questions sent to his mailbag, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune doesn’t seem to believe the Bears would cut Prince Amukamara in order to save $9 million in cap space. The reasoning? Biggs thinks the Bears would have to take a chunk of that money to re-invest in a replacement. And while I understand that perspective, the team could also turn to a possible selection in Round 2 and hand the keys to a rookie. That option isn’t even thrown out there by Biggs, which I feel is a bit of an oversight. I suppose the Bears and Amukamara could get creative and do something similar to what was done with Kyle Long last year with a contract restructuring. But broaching that conversation is never easy.

It is a pretty wide-ranging mailbag for Biggs, who discusses the failures of the offense in not getting Tarik Cohen the ball more, why the Bears might be wise to shy away from drafting a quarterback in Round 2, what to look for in a signal caller, Javon Wims’ role, and more. Give it a read.

Ah, man. Didn’t we have a feeling something was wrong with Kyle Long when he didn’t look right early in the season? Here’s the reason:

Kyle Long played every snap in his last game before going on IR. Three weeks earlier, he had torn his groin. And that was just the most recent example of him playing through an injury. My story from Miami ⤵️ https://t.co/wLzyP74i5f

— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) January 30, 2020

OUCH. Playing through a groin injury seems impossible. And yet, Long pushed through because he is a tough guy who wanted to play through it all. Of all the ways for a career to end, trying to gut through an injury when you’ve already been through as much as Long had been through to that point, stinks.

More Long:

On @mullyhaugh, Kyle Long opened up about the end of his time with the Bears: "I just found that it was time for me to amicably figure out a way to end it with the Bears. They did right by me for so long. … That's why you'll never see me wear another jersey."

— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) January 29, 2020

https://twitter.com/NBCSBears/status/1222662103506530305?s=20

"The Bears did right by me and that's why I'll never wear another color other than Navy and Orange. I'm a Bear for life. .. I'd like to be involved with the Bears somehow. There's a lot to be done in the league and you don't have to be wearing a helmet to help." — @Ky1eLong pic.twitter.com/B11MaxzJXU

— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) January 29, 2020

Kyle Long explains why retiring was “the easiest decision I’ve ever made,” why he’s still loyal to the Bears after what could’ve been an ugly breakup and why he’ll never leave Chicago in his rearview—https://t.co/4pqjNQiGWL pic.twitter.com/72iUSoCoC9

— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) January 29, 2020

How I feel when the Bears offense takes the field:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B76yeVclaVA/

#shrugemoji

Robbie Gould is diving deep into old tape. Anything for a Super Bowl edge:

Part of Robbie Gould’s Super Bowl prep? He went back and watched the special teams tape of Super Bowl XLI to see how Dave Toub called the game for the #Bears.

“The last time I played in this, he was coaching me. I just hope he doesn’t return the opening kickoff.”

— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) January 28, 2020

One of my few regrets in life is not seeing Prince live in concert before he passed. Even still, his Super Bowl performance was an all-timer. This is worth the read:

Here’s my look back at Prince’s ridiculous performance in the rain at the Super Bowl. ☔️☔️☔️https://t.co/hbUhQTdewX

— Alan Siegel (@AlanSiegelDC) January 29, 2020

Oh, word?

One time in high school, Patrick Mahomes threw a no-hitter against Michael Kopech.

Mahomes struck out 16 dudes. Here is what five of those dudes — including Kopech — and some other dudes remember about that day: https://t.co/e6fhLNbzcT

— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) January 28, 2020

Ron Wolf is one of the greatest general managers in modern NFL history, but this statement feels short-sighted:

Hall of Fame GM Ron Wolf said the @Browns and others who embrace an analytics-driven model are "out of control."
Wolf: "When something goes wrong, who takes responsibility?
"Their answer: `Well, that's what the data told us.' What a crock. That's what got 'em 1-31."

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 29, 2020

Ron Wolf’s son, Eliot, was recently dismissed from his Assistant GM role as part of the changes happening in Cleveland.

Elsewhere in the lad of the Browns, Zac Jackson reports the team is moving toward hiring Alex Van Pelt as the team’s offensive coordinator. If you’ll recall, Van Pelt was Aaron Rodgers’ long-time position coach (and was not happy when he was let go).

The latest installment of the Talkin’Toros podcast remembers Kobe Bryant:

Episode XXXI of @TalkinToros remembers Kobe Bryanthttps://t.co/XP0CzXWPRC pic.twitter.com/av0e9Y3Pxc

— Luis M., President of the Bryan Mullins Fan Club (@lcm1986) January 30, 2020

MacBooks, jerky, building blocks, floor mats and more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon today. #ad