Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Kyle Long has made an important step in his NFL comeback, officially coming off of the team’s Physically Unable to Perform List (PUP) on Tuesday afternoon. The move occurred just before the 3 p.m. deadline for teams to activate players from their respective PUP lists. Long would’ve had to remain on the list for the remainder of the season without the activation.
Now that he’s officially on the active roster, Long will finally have a chance to potentially suit up for Kansas City when they play the Denver Broncos on Sunday. However, that decision still has to be made by Head Coach Andy Reid.
Among other roster moves made by the Chiefs, per the NFL’s daily transaction report, running back Jerick McKinnon and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders have been placed on Injured Reserve.
McKinnon reportedly suffered a hamstring injury against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11.
Saunders’ injury is currently unknown. While he was held out of practice with a knee injury in Week 8, he was listed as a full participant in weeks 9 and 10 and wasn’t listed at all on the injury report in Week 11.
Following the moves, Kansas City’s active roster currently has 52 players, so at least one more move could be on the way to bring it back to 53.
Long, who turns 33 on Sunday, was signed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract that included $3.5 million in incentives in mid-March after being away from football for a year since retiring from the Chicago Bears in 2019.
The former All-Pro was expected to compete for a starting job along Kansas City’s offensive line but a lower leg injury (later to be a tibial plateau fracture) kept him sidelined through training camp.
At the time, the team had hoped Long would be back in time for Week 1. But once he was placed on the Active/PUP list in late June, he remained there through the preseason’s final roster cuts and was automatically placed on the Chiefs’ Reserve/PUP list, where players must remain for the following six weeks.
On November 9, Kansas City designated Long to return to practice, allowing him to participate in team workouts. In turn, that opened a 21-day window for him to officially be activated to the team’s roster which was scheduled to close Tuesday at 3 p.m.
How Long will be used in a game setting and how soon he will see the field are the next questions surrounding Long. And will likely be something Andy Reid will have to address when he meets with reporters on Wednesday.
But whether he steps in for Andrew Wylie at right tackle or becomes a depth piece on the o-line as the Chiefs begin their late-season push for the postseason, Kyle Long is finally making huge strides towards rejuvenating his NFL career.
