Bears guard Kyle Long was slated to have two surgeries after going on injured reserve last November, but one of those surgeries won’t happen so that Long can concentrate on ankle rehab.
Long went on injured reserve as a result of ligament damage in his right ankle and he’s had surgery to address that injury, but will not have an operation to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder. Long played through the torn labrum last season and signed an extension with the Bears last September after suffering the injury.
Long’s father Howie told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune that his son “struggled with medication” related to the ankle surgery and that he has lost 40 pounds since the surgery. Some of that weight loss was prescribed to help with his ankle recovery, but Biggs says that will now be an “extended process” that will require more focus than Long could devote if he was also rehabbing from shoulder surgery.
There’s no word on just how extended that process is going to be and the change in plans suggests that Long will a limited participant at best through the offseason program.