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The Kansas City Chiefs may have just lost a former first-round pick who appears to be hanging up his cleats — again. Don’t worry, this 2013 day-one selection never actually factored in a game for Kansas City.
Kyle Long, son of NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long, came out of retirement to sign with the Chiefs in 2021. The long-time guard had originally called it quits in January of 2020 but after a one-year hiatus, he returned to give it one more go with a championship contender.
Unfortunately, things did not work out as planned as the offensive lineman never played a snap and the Chiefs didn’t win a Super Bowl. On April 4, Long hinted that he might be retiring for a second time.
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From Football Player to ‘Stay at Home Dad’
After a fan asked Long whether or not he was “playing this season” on Twitter, the guard gave a very candid response that suggested he wasn’t.
“I am a stay at home dad now,” the offensive lineman voiced, catching the attention of many social media observers.
“Is this an official retirement statement,” one questioned with a teary-eyed emoji. Long did not reply to this comment but he did answer another.
“Hopefully you enjoyed your time in KC!” A fan wrote, to which Long messaged back: “Wish I played more years under Andy Reid. Fans in KC are smart and present. would have been really cool to play at arrowhead, too bad it didn’t work out but things happen for a reason!”
Although the stay-at-home dad comment blew up, this one went viral. Sports Illustrated’s Arrowhead Report even announced: “Kyle Long is re-retiring, according to Kyle Long. Thanks, Kyle!”
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Another Hint From Long?
As far as the public knows, Long does not currently have any kids. This caused one fan to question the initial remark.
“Don’t you need a kid first?” They asked. Long’s response was once again vague and could be interpreted in many ways. “That’s how being a dad works,” he wrote.
Was he joking, hinting at the future, talking about a pet, attempting to have children, or what? Fortunately, another fan did advise checking Long’s interview with Colin Thompson on the Not For Long podcast for more information.
@Ky1eLong If people would of listened to the @Not4LongMedia podcast they would get the reference
“Baby, this coming week,” Long announced abruptly to the podcast’s listeners.
He continued: “So, my wife Kate, Jersey girl, amazing, worked at Ernst & Young… phenomenal gal. I got lucky enough to meet her in Chicago and we’ve been stuck to the hip ever since, and she’s going to be welcoming our daughter into the world on Monday. I’m so excited.”
Thompson asked Long if they had a name picked out but the guard told him that they decided to be “covert ops” on that. Speaking of covert ops, the football star kept his marriage and his wife’s pregnancy a relative secret to most, considering we live in the age of social media. Even his Wikipedia page makes no mention of Kate or a child on the way, not that Wikipedia should be relied on for such updates.
Based on the news, it sounds like Long is transitioning to a family man. Chiefs Kingdom wishes the charismatic lineman nothing but the best.
If this is the end of his NFL career, he spent seven seasons with the Chicago Bears — starting 77 games — and one inactive campaign with the Chiefs. Long was a three-time Pro Bowler and PFWA All-Rookie guard in 2013.
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Chiefs Reserve Hints at Retirement on Social Media