LAKE FOREST
White Stephen Denmark Jersey , Ill. (AP) — returning to practice with the Chicago Bears for the first time
since late October.Following seven missed games after foot surgery, Long is
hoping to come off injured reserve in time for the Bears’ first playoff game in
January, if not before.“It felt good to be in a helmet and running around,” Long
said. “I don’t feel like a ghost in the building, which is nice.”Long suffered a
tendon injury to his right foot on Oct. 28 in Chicago’s win over the New York
Jets, and then underwent surgery and rehab.The Bears (10-4) play Sunday at San
Francisco (4-10).Coach Matt Nagy couldn’t commit to Long’s return for the
playoffs or possibly even next week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. Long
practiced Friday only on a limited basis and the team will monitor his
recovery.“Just to kind of get a feel for where he tells us he feels with
everything health-wise and then also the other part, too, is when you’re out
like that it’s the conditioning side too,” Nagy said. “We’ll just keep
communicating and talking to him and then we’ll see what we think is best as we
go. Today was a great first step.”Now in his sixth season, Long doesn’t want to
miss a chance at his first postseason action.“I’ve never had a chance to play in
the playoffs,” Long said. “I’m just really happy for our team. We have put
ourselves in a position to be in the playoffs.“But right now we are going to San
Francisco tomorrow and we’ve got business to take care of the next two weeks.
There’s obviously no timeline, so I’m just trying to progress every day and make
strides.”A Pro Bowler from 2013-15, Long has been plagued by injuries severe
enough to require surgery the past three years. He missed 14 games in 2016 and
2017. He had surgeries last offseason to his neck, shoulder and elbow, and the
previous year suffered a gruesome ankle injury requiring surgery.“It’s really
frustrating,” Long said. “If you’re a football player you want to play
football
Youth Bryce Callahan Jerseys , and if you can’t do that then you don’t feel like yourself. So I’m just happy we’re winning.”The Bears replaced Long with Eric
Kush for one game and then former Kansas City Chiefs guard Bryan Witzmann took
over for Kush.Long’s return had the Bears fired up on defense, too.“I think that
it will be a morale boost to see him overcome his obstacles and be able to
rejoin the team in that way,” defensive end Akiem Hicks said. “That guy makes me
excited because you can tell that he has given everything to this game, mentally
and physically, you know? So I’m always happy when a guy like that gets to come
back to the game that he loves.”NOTESFree safety Eddie Jackson (right ankle) and
linebacker Aaron Lynch (elbow) missed all three practices this week and are
doubtful for Sunday’s game. Jackson, a Pro Bowler, would be replaced by
third-year player Deon Bush in the starting lineup. … Hicks had missed
Thursday’s practice because of illness but returned Friday and will play against
San Francisco. It was a franchise-defining trade for the Bears that had ripple
effects across the league. But what if it never happened?" />Skip to main
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Desk Of...Bears HistoryWhat if the Bears never traded for Jay
Cutler?New,102commentsIt was a franchise-defining trade for the Bears that had
ripple effects across the league. But what if it never
happened?CDTShareTweetShareShareWhat if the Bears never traded for Jay
Cutler?The surly Cutler became more known for his attitude, than his play. Photo
by Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesEditor’s Note: With the Jay Cutler trade back in
the news we wanted to share Robert’s fun look at what could have happened if the
Bears would have never made the blockbuster deal.April 3rd, 2009 was pure
Chicago football nirvana. For the first time in a long time, the Bears had a
legitimate Pro Bowl (alternate) quarterback in Jay Cutler. All for the meager
price of two first round picks (2009 and 2010), a third rounder (2009), and Kyle
Orton. After enduring years of Harbaugh, McNown, Stewart, Hutchinson
Bryce Callahan Jerseys Stitched , Krenzel, Grossman and on and on, Chicago finally had a player under center to build around. A welcome excited feeling of respite
from years of ineptitude, but a strange one at that. Cutler was the anointed
savior because he could throw the ball hard, and former general manager Jerry
Angelo “had no concerns”. Here came a Bears dynasty in tandem with a re-birth of
the modern “Superfans” from Saturday Night Live: with Cutler in front. If only
trades and plans always came to fruition the way they were originally
envisioned. A downward slopeFor awhile, it looked like the Bears had something
special with Cutler. His first season in 2009 was a mess as Chicago limped to a
7-9 record while Cutler led the NFL in interceptions with 26. 2010 was where the
magic happened. Forget another merely okay year passing-wise: Cutler was the
Bears’ offensive catalyst for a run to the 2011 NFC Championship Game. He was
the engine somehow bringing Mike Martz’s archaic “seven step and get killed”
offense back to life. That was the talent of Cutler. Nothing bridled, and enough
to lift even the most incompetent of supporting casts and coaches. The Bears
would end up falling to the Packers at home that January, and still haven’t
reached the same stage, let alone returned to the postseason since. 2011 seemed
promising, but a Cutler broken thumb on a tackle during an interception return
sunk those hopes. 2012 was the end of the Bears’ Lovie Smith backbone, their
defense, and there was nothing Cutler could do. He wasn’t that kind of
quarterback.2013 to 2014 was what Chicago likes to call “It Never Happened” but
in actuality, someone did let Marc Trestman coach a football team. And for 14
games, he seemed like he knew what he was doing. As did Cutler: mastering and
lifting another off-kilter offense and scheme. That is, until the Bears once
again lost to the Packers in what was effectively a playoff battle at Soldier
Field. Rampant in-fighting then spread across the organization over the course
of 2014 season. At this point, not all of the fault could be laid at Cutler’s
feet for the Bears’ continual failures. He was merely surviving. The John Fox
era became Cutler’s one last shot to prove he could lead a team into prominence.
2015 was one of his career’s best in passer rating (92.3) and overall
efficiency
Youth Roquan Smith Jerseys , and then he promptly fell off a cliff immediately after. 2016 was mired for Cutler by injury from the start, and his lengthy eight-year
tenure with the Bears ended with the softest of whimpers. What were once lofty
(and perhaps unfair) Super Bowl expectations, evolved into both sides (the Bears
and Cutler) dysfunctionally loving each other, and needing a clean break. The
most painful of breakups.154 touchdowns. 109 interceptions. 57 wins.Aside from
an evident surly attitude, in terms of pure production and on-field results:
that ended up becoming what the Bears received in trading for Cutler. A 1.41
touchdown to interception ratio and an average of seven wins a season (though,
the latter in victories is more on the Bears for failing to properly build a
team). Not the fall from grace that Angelo ever expected. Bronco(Butter)fly
effectPhoto by Elsa/Getty ImagesPicture this alternate history in your mind:
instead of trading for Cutler in the 2009 off-season, the Bears had stuck with
Orton for the time being. Instead of narrowly missing the 2008 playoffs, Orton
led Chicago to an NFC North title, earning at least another year as the starter
on the lakefront. Here’s the alternate history of the Bears never trading for
Cutler (timeline 2009 to 2016):Chicago uses the No. 18 overall pick of the 2009
NFL Draft on Jeremy Maclin, giving Orton a legitimate young weapon to work with
offensively. They use the No. 84 overall selection on T.J. Lang, bolstering
their offensive front of a group that desperately needed a youthful infusion. In
the 2009 season, they still don’t make the playoffs, but show enough rising
young talent offensively to run with Orton for another year. In 2010, Chicago
doesn’t make a run to the NFC Championship Game, yet does sneak into the
postseason dance: booting the rival Packers. Green Bay doesn’t win Super Bowl
XLV. Coming short two years in a row doesn’t sit well in Chicago,
though
Roquan Smith Jerseys Stitched , especially given Orton’s limitations. The Bears finally decide to draft their future, and with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2011 NFL
Draft, select Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick (No. 36 overall in reality).Kaepernick,
as a young and raw passer, doesn’t play immediately and sits behind Orton who is
extended for the sole purpose of acting as a bridge quarterback. Orton plays
competently enough in 2011 to keep Kaepernick on the sideline until the Bears
decide to cut their losses and run with their young passer in December. From
that point on, it’s Kaepernick’s team or bust. Over the next few years,
Kaepernick slowly develops and becomes a quality starting quarterback, even
leading the Bears back to the postseason in 2012. This time around, the Bears
are one of the teams with the mobile quarterback no one knows how to stop and
they make a run to the 2012 NFC Title Game before eventually falling to the
Giants. Chicago makes a few more vaunted runs over the next few years,
especially as the offense is maximized to Kaepernick’s skill set, but is never
able to climb the mountain with Kaepernick. The Bears become stuck in Purgatory
much in the same way they were in 2017 anyway. League defining decisionsCutler
never being traded to the Bears also has a profound effect on how parts of the
league develops from 2009 to 2016. The Broncos stick with Cutler, Brandon
Marshall, and Josh McDaniels and build one of the league’s consistent premier
offenses. The Broncos become a consistent AFC contender from 2010 to 2015, but
are never able to overcome the Patriots without an elite defense, as Denver
never gets bad enough to draft Von Miller in 2011. Miller becomes a Bengal
instead, where he is paired with Geno Atkins and turns Cincinnati’s defense into
an elite unit. A unit that can overcome the faults of Andy Dalton at quarterback
as it leads the Bengals to an eventual win in Super Bowl XLVIII over the
Seahawks. Cincinnati does it by bullying Tom Brady in the AFC Championship
Game
Youth Sam Acho Jerseys , just as the Broncos did in real life (albeit in a different year). Without an enthralling quarterback to build around, Jim
Harbaugh doesn’t reach the same heights in San Francisco. The 49ers have a
talented roster that everyone recognizes goes to waste under the guidance of
Alex Smith at quarterback. They make no NFC Championship appearances and
Harbaugh eventually leaves the NFL: without an NCAA head coaching gig. Tim Tebow
is never drafted by the Broncos, and “Tebow Time” (mercifully) never happens. He
never gets a contract from the New York Mets in the future either. The story
actually goes away forever. In hindsight, given the crapshoot of the NFL when it
comes to developing and nurturing starting quarterbacks, most would make the
Bears’ Cutler trade again without a second thought. He was one of the Bears’
best quarterbacks ever, certainly the most talented, and should be seen as more
wasted potential than a complete waste of time. There’s no denying the amount of
fun hypothetical possibilities if the Bears and Angelo never pull the trigger,
however. Possibilities that would have dramatically shifted a league and sport
as we know it. Robert Zeglinski is the Bears beat writer for The Rock River
Times, an editor for Windy City Gridiron and Inside The Pylon, and is a
contributor to Pro Football Weekly and The Athletic Chicago. You can follow him
on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.
