Kyle Long has really become the Swiss Army Knife of the Chicago Bears offensive line. He’s already played right guard and right tackle in his career for the team. Now it seems there’s a growing rumor that the team again plans to shift him elsewhere. No, it’s not to the position many have called for at left tackle. Instead Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune indicated Long could be on the move to the left guard position.
“The Bears are considering another position change for Kyle Long, but it’s not what you might expect.
No, Long isn’t moving back to right tackle, and the three-time Pro Bowl selection is not going to play left tackle either. Instead, multiple sources tell the Tribune the Bears are in the process of shifting Long to left guard for the 2017 season to have him swap places with veteran Josh Sitton, who was named to the Pro Bowl as an alternate last year.”
It’s an interesting development and somewhat puzzling given the success the team had blocking last year. Turns out there are a number of reasons behind it. For starters is Long’s health. Odds are he may not be fully recovered from the nasty ankle injury he suffered last season. With it being his right ankle, a move to left guard where most of the torque gets put on the left ankle would make sense.
Kyle Long shift is about age and athleticism
There is another part to the idea though. Long was and still is the most athletic offensive lineman the Bears have. Typically it’s smart to have the most agile blockers on the left side for pass protection purposes. Long is 28-years old while Sitton is 30. The older veteran can’t move quite like he used to and also has experience on the right side.
“The Packers swapped Sitton and Lang because they felt Lang was more of a mauler and better suited for the right side. Typically, offenses are right-handed in the running game, and a more mobile and athletic left guard not only aids pass blocking on that side of the line but is an asset when it comes to pulling and getting to the second level in the running game.”
In other words the move is meant to serve all parties. Having Long on the left side should help Mike Glennon or Mitch Trubisky in pass protection while he’ll also be able to pull and provide extra help to the right side on run blocking situations for Jordan Howard. Long did play some left guard in college at Oregon, so the position isn’t totally foreign to him.
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The Bears are also being wise to start him on that road now rather than right before the season back in 2015 when they shifted him to right tackle at the last minute. Odds are he will accept the change and take in stride. That’s been his personality since he got to the league. At the end of the day the shift likely won’t be too noticeable.
