Despite rumors that he’d been considering retirement, Eagles defensive end Chris Long plans to continue his career in 2018, according to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (Twitter link).
Long reportedly signed a new deal with Philadelphia last week, leading to speculation that he would indeed return for the upcoming campaign. Long is now guaranteed $3MM in 2018, and his base salary will increase from a non-guaranteed $1MM to $2.5MM guaranteed. Additionally, the Eagles eliminated Long’s $750K in per-game roster bonuses and $750K in incentives.
Philadelphia has revamped its defensive line this offseason, as the club added Michael Bennett and Haloti Ngata while losing Vinny Curry and Beau Allen. Bennett, though, is scheduled to turn himself into authorities on Monday after being indicted on a felony charge, so Long’s presence will be all the more important if Bennett is handed a league-imposed suspension.
Long, 32, appeared in all 16 games and saw roughly 50% playtime for the Super Bowl champion Eagles last season. In that time, Long managed 20 tackles and five sacks while grading as the NFL’s No. 30 edge defender among 106 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
good!