Kyle Long expected to change positions..again

Kyle Long will be making the third position change of his career

Kyle Long has seen a lot of shuffling and change in his brief time in Chicago. From management and coaching staff, to in and out of the lineup with an injury, and of course in terms of position. Rumors are beginning to swirl that Long will be making his third position change as he enters his fifth year. This time he will be moving from right guard to left.

Long played a bit of left guard in college but has spent most of his time on the right side. Of course, the first move of his career was moving from right guard to right tackle after his first two seasons. The move was not too significant, and after one season at tackle, the team shifted Long right back to guard. Now, it will be to the left side for his next change.

Of course, the one caveat is that Long is currently injured and not able to practice. Long suffered an ankle injury halfway through the 2016 season and still is not completely healthy after missing eight games. The team has OTA practices starting June ninth, and the hope will be that Long can come back by then so that the line can begin to find some continuity and familiarity in the switch.

With Long moving to the left side, this now means Josh Sitton will slide to the right side. Sitton has played right guard before with the Packers for his first five seasons. When T.J. Lang came into the mix, the Packers saw him as a better option for the right guard spot and moved him there over Sitton. That is not an indictment on Sitton’s play, and it should not be a tough transition for the veteran guard.

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The interior offensive line is the strength of the Bears roster, so the hope for Bears fans will have to be that this switch does not take long to click for these veterans. If Long is ready to roll by June and is working on the transition it should be a small adjustment, but this is a switch worth looking into nonetheless.