Kyle Long‘s return to the NFL is coming with a significant player: The reigning AFC champions.
Long is signing with the Kansas City Chiefs, NFL Network’s James Palmer reported, per a source informed of the situation.
Long’s arrival is essentially the Chiefs taking a flier on a once-premier Chicago Bears guard who called it quits due to lingering health issues following the 2019 season. Now fully healthy and ready to get back on the field, Long, No. 84 in Gregg Rosenthal’s Top 101 free agents of 2021, is latching on with Kansas City, where he should be expected to start opposite another significant name, the recently signed Joe Thuney.
With center Austin Reiter expected to sign elsewhere for more money than the Chiefs can afford, and Kansas City having released both starting tackles, the club still has a few questions to answer up front. But after navigating a season in which the Chiefs had to deal with injuries all over their offensive line, Kansas City has taken an additional step to shore up the group with immediate answers.