After nine weeks of regular-season play, the Kansas City Chiefs are welcoming back a veteran offensive lineman that’s been sidelined until this point in the season.
The Chiefs have designated offensive lineman Kyle Long to return from the physically unable to perform list, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.
The Chiefs have designated OL Kyle Long to return to practice from the PUP list.
Good to see him back on the field after suffering an injury this offseason.
Back in June, Long suffered a lower-leg injury, with the belief that he could be ready by Week 1 of the 2021 season, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero. That recovery timetable was believed to be “wishful thinking,” however, according to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star, which turned out to be the case, as Long hasn’t been healthy enough to return to action until Week 10 of the regular season.
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Long Back After Chiefs’ O-Line Thinned Out
Long’s return to the lineup is well-timed, as Kansas City’s offensive line depth thinned a bit over the course of the last week.
At the November 2 trade deadline, the Chiefs traded away offensive guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to the New York Jets in exchange for tight end Dan Brown. The maneuver was essentially a salary dump in order to free up some cap space for defensive end Melvin Ingram, who the team also traded for at the deadline.
So, with Duvernay-Tardif out of town, Kansas City played one game — against the Green Bay Packers — with Nick Allegretti, Austin Blythe, and Andrew Wylie as the only options behind Joe Thuney and Trey Smith on the depth chart. However, Wylie had played right tackle in the team’s Week 9 victory due to Mike Remmers (back) being inactive and Lucas Niang (ribs) being banged up during the game.
There’s no guarantee that either Remmers or Niang will play in Week 10 against the Las Vegas Raiders either, so Wylie could very well be thrust into the starting right tackle spot for a second straight week, thinning out the offensive guard depth yet again.
Kansas City’s first injury report of the week on Wednesday, November 10, will give us our first update on where Remmers and Niang stand injury-wise.
Long a Decorated Lineman
Having a player with Long’s experience as a depth piece along the offensive line will be greatly beneficial to the Chiefs.
As a first-round pick of the Chicago Bears in the 2013 NFL Draft, Long has played in a total of 77 games and has 9,560 career snaps under his belt, according to Pro Football Reference. He earned three Pro Bowl nods from 2013-15, and was with Chicago through the 2019 season, although he was placed on injured reserve in October of that year. In 2020, he retired from the NFL, but this offseason he was coaxed out of retirement to play for the Chiefs.
Long potentially has his first opportunity to be active for a game this season in Week 10, when Kansas City faces off against the Raiders in Las Vegas for their first of two matchups this season. The defending AFC champions will enter the matchup with a 5-4 record, meanwhile, the Raiders will be sporting a 5-3 record. The game will take place on Sunday Night Football on Sunday, November 14.
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Chiefs Update Status of Injured OL Kyle Long