EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ Two days after being removed from practice for his role in a fight, Bears right guard Kyle Long is not at MetLife Stadium for the team's preseason game against the Giants on Friday night.
Coach Matt Nagy said multiple times Wednesday that the matter would be handled internally, and it appears that one repercussion from Long's fight with rookie defensive lineman Jalen Dalton is that he was left home for the trip.
Long took Dalton's helmet off during the brief melee and swung it at Dalton, an undrafted rookie. Two practices before that incident, Long was mixed up in a less-heated tussle with defensive end Akiem Hicks.
"Today, I thought, was a little bit disappointing," Nagy said Wednesday after the Long-Dalton incident. "We talk about it as a team. That kind of stuff we just don't do. At some point in time we have to prove that we're a mature team. We are. I've been saying it to you guys for the longest time.
"We have a bunch of high-character people. Now it starts with us as coaches making sure we lead these guys the right way. And we also have to make sure that they understand that that can't happen. That just can't happen."
It's debatable if Long not being with the team means much in the big picture. Nearly all of the front-line players are expected to remain on the sideline even as the other starters did some drill work on the field 2 { hours before kickoff.
Long did not play in the preseason opener last week against the Panthers.
