The offensive line rebuild continues this week for the K.C. Chiefs with the announced signing of former Chicago Bears lineman Kyle Long to a one-year contract worth up to a reported $5 million.
@Ky1eLong tells me he has ended his retirement and returns to the NFL with KC @NFLonFOX. Kyle visited Raiders yesterday and had planned on couple other visits but told me once he met people w the Chiefs the last day he didn’t want to go elsewhere
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) March 17, 2021
Kyle Long originally retired from the NFL before last season after having myriad health issues, but before free agency began, he stated that he was ready to unretire after a year away from the game. At that point, teams became interested including two that he took visits to: the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs.
On Monday, Long reportedly visited the Raiders but he left without a deal and was going to take further visits. Then, per Jay Glazer’s report (above), the Chiefs apparently won out and his search was over.
Long now joins a Chiefs team that is in the midst of a complete rebuild of the offensive line in 2021. Left tackle Eric Fisher and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz were both released earlier this offseason to create cap space after dealing with injury concerns late last season and into the spring. The team reportedly is also letting starting center Austin Reiter explore the market in free agency as they seek new alternatives.
The rebuild for the Chiefs began in earnest with the signing of former New England Patriots guard Joe Thuney to a five-year contract in free agency worth up to $80 million. It gave the Chiefs a flagship signing to rebuild the line and lead the locker room full of change. Together with rookie holdover tackle Lucas Niang, who sat out last season, the Chiefs began to rebuild the line. Now Long’s presence allows them to fill in further.
Long has extensive starting experience at right guard, which is where Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is expected to slot in after also opting out last season. However, both Long and Thuney are versatile players who can likely move to other positions as the Chiefs make their offseason moves.
Long is a three-time Pro Bowler who has started 76 games for the Bears over parts of 7 NFL seasons from 2013 to 2019.