Chicago Bears: Kyle Long could return to practice soon

The Chicago Bears could get a huge addition with Kyle Long looking to return to practice soon

Kyle Long has always been the one of the best starters on the Chicago Bears offense. However, unfortunately for them, that has typically come with the asterisk that he is one of their best starters when healthy. The question becomes how long can he stay healthy?

Long has just 24 starts in the past three seasons. After 7 starts in 2018, a foot injury sent him to the injured reserve. However, with two weeks remaining in the NFL season Matt Nagy is optimistic about Kyle Long. He told reporters this week that he anticipates Long practicing this week.

Once Long practices he will have three weeks to rejoin the active roster. That would mean the chance that he is ready to start the Chicago Bears first playoff game.

First, that would be a tremendous achievement for Long. Long has been here for the worst of the worst in Chicago. He has seen it all. Nothing would be better than to see him run out with the starters for a home playoff game. He deserves to be there for it.

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On top of that the return of Long raises this teams ceiling. There has been a lot of talk recently about what is wrong with the Chicago Bears rushing attack. One thing that cannot be disputed is that the rushing attack was much more potent with Long in the lineup.

When Long is on the field, 53% of runs by the Chicago Bears are successful. That number drops to 41% without him. Explosive runs go down from 6.9% to 5.4% and on average they rush for 4.7 yards per carry with Long and 3.6 yards per carry without him.

Those are drastic splits. While the entire drop off cannot be completely brushed off as Kyle Long, seeing him get back into the lineup has to instill some confidence in the running game.

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