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On Sunday night, Bears veteran guard Kyle Long tweeted his intention to ‘step away and get [his] body right’
Some chicagoans are probably happy to hear I’m finally stepping away and getting my body right. Some Chicagoans may be sad to hear this. Either way ufeel about it, I want u to know how lucky I am to have spent time in your city. I became a man while playing in Chicago.Thank you❤️
— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) January 6, 2020
He didn’t use the word ‘retire’ but it sure sounds like it. More tweets from Long:
Special thanks to Phil Emery, Marc Trestman and the rest of that staff for bringing me in. Thanks to and happy birthday to the young lady named Virginia as well. Ryan pace, thank you for keeping me around as well
— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) January 6, 2020
Long was a first round pick back in 2013 of Phil Emery. He played all seven seasons of his career in Chicago and starred at right guard and right tackle. He was a Pro-Bowler his first three seasons, at both tackle and guard.
He quickly endeared himself to Chicago with a penchant for interacting with fans on Twitter and through video game streams. He also played with a mean streak and had a tendency to be somewhat of an enforcer on the OL.
He was a good teammate and defended his QBs to the extreme. Although sometimes his temper could flair and he got into several training camp skirmishes over the years, including this past summer when he was suspended for pulling off a teammate’s helmet and hitting him with it.
If anyone has been paying attention to Kyle’s Twitter feed since he went on injured reserve, he’s hinted and outright said he was unlikely to return to the Bears next year. The writing’s been on the wall, especially since he’s finished the last four years on IR.
I think I speak for all of WCG when I say thanks for the memories Kyle, you made a lot of bad Bears football worth watching and will always be our No. 75.