When the Chicago Bears and Kyle Long agreed to restructure the veteran guard’s contract heading into 2019, the initial reaction by Bears fans and Long was that the new deal would ensure he’d retire in Chicago.
Not so fast my friend.
Complete details of Long’s restructured contract were revealed Wednesday, and they paint a very different picture for the future of the former first-round pick.
Long’s new deal frees up $2.9 million in cap space for GM Ryan Pace to use in free agency this year and will pay him a guaranteed $4.1 million in 2018, but his salary balloons to an $8.1 million team option in 2020. His total cap hit that year will be $9.6 million.
Assuming Long’s play remains at its current level, and assuming he isn’t suddenly capable of staying healthy and starting all 16 games, there’s no way the Bears will keep him around after next season. He’d be too big of a cap hit for a player who simply isn’t the same kind of dominant starter he once was.
So while Long may want to be a Bear for life, it looks more like he’ll be in Chicago for just one more season.
