Kyle Long Says There’s No Truth To Report Jets Have Reached Out To Him

Update:

Free agent OL Kyle Long tells Rick Taristino that there the prior report of the Jets reaching out to him is not accurate.

“No. None,” Long said when asked if there’s any truth to the earlier report.

A source tells Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports that the report of the Jets reaching out to retired OL Kyle Long about coming out of retirement isn’t accurate.

“It’s not true,” Edholm’s source said.

According to Edholm, Long hasn’t spoken to anyone with the Jets about playing in 2020.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News is reporting that the Jets have spoken to retired OL about coming out of retirement.

Long opted to retire from the NFL back in January, citing the number of injuries he’s dealt with over the course of his career.

Mehta says it’s unclear how much the Jets would have to pay Long should he return to the NFL.

Last year, the Jets lured Ryan Kalil out of retirement, so this could be something to keep an eye on as the Jets continue to look for ways to improve their offensive line.

The Jets used a first-round pick on Mekhi Becton and signed George Fant to a three-year, $30 million contract.

New York has around $25 million of salary cap space to work with and have options to free up more room if need be, so this wouldn’t be an issue for them financially.

Long, 31, is a former first-round pick of the Bears back in 2013. He’s in the fourth year of his six-year, $50.358 million contract that included $30 million and stands to make a base salary of $8 million for the 2019 season.

Long agreed to a restructured contract this last February after missing half the 2018 season. The Bears eliminated the 2021 year of his contract, made 2020 a team option and turned $2.5 million of his base salary into incentives. 

Long is currently an unrestricted free agent. 

In 2019, Long was limited to appearing in four games for the Bears, making four starts for them.