Last week, word broke the former NFL lineman Kyle Long was interested in returning to the game after retiring following the 2019 season. This week, it’s clear he’s going to make that happen as he begins his free agent tour in the AFC West and the K.C. Chiefs are one of his first scheduled stops.
According to ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, Long is scheduled to hit the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday and Kansas City sometime thereafter. There’s a certain familial connection at work for Long in his first visit, but we’ll let Schefter explain.
Three-time Pro Bowl G Kyle Long, who is coming out of retirement, is scheduled to visit Monday with the Las Vegas Raiders, per source. Long is scheduled to visit KC next. Long's father, Howie, had a Hall-of-Fame career for Raiders and another Long now in play for the franchise.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2021
There are a few interesting angles here at work. In terms of free agency and how quickly things can often change, it’s important to remember heading into a week like this that things can very competitive very quickly. If the Raiders like the potential of adding Long at all, then it’s very possible he doesn’t even make it onto a plane to Kansas City. Being the first visit on a player’s docket can turn very important, which means Chiefs Kingdom needs to exercise patience because Long has to actually arrive at Arrowhead for a signing to be a possibility.
The Raiders are going to be very interested beyond any connection to their past through his father, Howie Long. however. Remember the Raiders are rebuilding a large part of their offensive line as well after watching Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito both leave, which means they need more help at guard than the Chiefs.
Former Bears lineman Kyle Long is set to visit the K.C. Chiefs soon.
If Long makes it to K.C., he presents a very intriguing option for the Chiefs to consider with some very obvious positives and negatives on the table. Let’s get the cons out of the way: the Chiefs just got rid of a few thirty-something injury concerns in hopes of rebuilding the roster with less expensive and hopefully more reliable parts. It feels a little funny that the Chiefs would clear the decks of the likes of Eric Fisher, Kelechi Osemele, and Mitchell Schwartz, who all had injuries last season unfortunately, only to replace one position with another major injury risk coming back in his thirties.
The Chiefs have good reason to at least sit down with Long, however. He’s a high-performance lineman who was very dominant early in his career with the Chicago Bears, as illustrated by three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances to begin his career. Even after suffering numerous injuries, he’s remained a very good player, but it’s the availability part that’s plagued him. The least amount of games missed by Long in a full season over the last four years of his career was six. He missed 12 games in his final year in Chicago before retiring 15 months ago.
Long clearly feels healthy enough to make another go of it, and the Chiefs (or any other team for that matter) wouldn’t sign him if they didn’t feel good about his present readiness and his long-term medicals. Basically, the due diligence of any team that signs him should be enough to ease fan concerns in the present.
If Long becomes an option for the Chiefs this week during his visit, expect the Chiefs to pencil him in as an impact performer while simultaneously building some level of insurance around him in case he’s unable to make it through the rigors of another long season.