WEDNESDAY, 11:37am: The Bears have officially announced the deal.
SATURDAY, 3:48pm: The Bears have signed guard Kyle Long to a four-year, $40MM extension, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Long will receive $30MM in guaranteed money.
Long, 27, has been a Pro Bowler in each of his three seasons since entering the league, starting all but one game for the Bears over the last three years. After playing at right guard to start his career, the former 20th overall pick shifted over to right tackle during the 2015 season.
As Pro Football Focus’ data suggests, Long wasn’t quite as effective on the end of the offensive line as he was on the interior, and he figures to return to that familiar right guard spot in 2016. Long’s status Week 1 is entirely unclear as he deals with a labrum issue, so if he is absent, the club will have some shuffling to do. For the time being, the Bears have moved free agent signing Ted Larsenfrom center to right guard, while installing Cornelius Edison at the pivot.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.