Dec. 21--Chicago Bears guard Kyle Long will not play Sunday afternoon against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field, declared inactive by the team because of a hip injury.
Long practiced in full for the Bears on Thursday but missed practice Friday with soreness in his hip and now becomes the fifth opening-day starter on the Bears' offensive line to miss a game due to injury.
With Long's absence, the Bears are again forced to do some reshuffling on their offensive line with Michael Ola taking Long's place at right guard and undrafted rookie Ryan Groy sliding over to start at left guard.
The timing, of course, isn't ideal for the Bears as they turn the controls of their offense over to quarterback Jimmy Clausen against one of the NFL's best defenses. Groy, Ola and center Roberto Garza will have their hands full Sunday afternoon with Lions defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and C.J. Mosley.
The other inactives for the Bears on Sunday will be safety Chris Conte, kicker Robbie Gould, cornerback Terrance Mitchell, defensive end Trevor Scott, quarterback David Fales and defensive tackle Will Sutton.
Conte will be replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Brock Vereen. Jay Feely will handle place-kicking duties for the third consecutive game.
