Former Chicago Bears Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long, who came out of retirement this offseason, is signing a one-year deal worth up to $5 million with the Kansas City Chiefs, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Long had visited the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday.
Long is the latest addition to the Chiefs’ offensive line as Kansas City is attempting to overhaul a unit that could have five new starters in 2021 from last year’s season opener. The Chiefs recently agreed to contract terms with former New England Patriots guard Joe Thuney.
The Chiefs recently released both of last season’s starting tackles, Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher. Two other players who opened last season as starters, center Austin Reiter and guard Kelechi Osemele, are unrestricted free agents.
They’re also expecting the return of two players who opted out of last season, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Lucas Niang.
Long unretired with the hopes of playing again in 2021 after announcing his retirement in January of 2020 following seven seasons with the Bears.
Drafted 20th overall by the Bears in 2013, Long missed just one game over his first three seasons but appeared in just 30 regular-season contests over his last four years. He was selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls in his first three NFL seasons.
Long, who is 32, suffered a gruesome ankle injury in 2016 that cost him the final eight games that year and the first two games of the 2017 season. Long ended up missing six games in 2017 with a variety of ailments, undergoing neck, shoulder and elbow surgeries in the offseason. He returned in time to start the Bears’ first seven games in 2018 before Chicago once again shut him down before his return in Week 17 from a foot injury.
Long opened the 2019 regular season in good shape but suffered a hip injury during practice leading up to the game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 29. He was inactive for that game but returned to the starting lineup against the Raiders in London on Oct. 6.
After the loss to the Raiders — a game in which Long played all 56 possible snaps on offense — the Bears decided they would be better off on offense without Long and promptly placed the veteran on injured reserve yet again.
Long spent the 2020 season doing studio television work for CBS.
ESPN’s Adam Teicher and Jeff Dickerson contributed to this report.