Chicago Bears right guard Kyle Long is among the NFL’s most interesting characters. He’s engaging on Twitter, he livestreams himself playing video games on Twitch and stars in the very funny Campbell’s Chunky Soup’s “Everyman All-Star League” commercials with Drew Brees, Odell Beckham and others.
Long isn’t just an engaging figure off the field, as he also happens to be excellent at his job, opening his career with three straight Pro Bowl appearances. This year was a more trying year for Long on the field, as he suffered shoulder and ankle injuries that limited him to just eight games and required surgery.
Long spoke with UPROXX Sports about the frustrations of rehab and this past season, his Twitter presence, playing video games for charity, family, acting and of course, soup.
What is your rehab status and what has the process been like for you the past few weeks getting back from ankle surgery?
Everything is going well. It’s just a slow process trying to get the range of motion back. Weight bearing stuff pretty soon. I’ve been in Chicago for the entire offseason and will be until the spring to stay in close contact with the Bears’ staff.
#FindYourBeach 🙄 pic.twitter.com/rC18Ye4lUp
— kyle (@Ky1eLong) January 11, 2017
What’s been the most frustrating part?
Not being able to walk is really, really crappy and I did not have an appreciation for it when I could and now I really want to. Independence. You know, always needing a little bit of help with something just sucks.
What’s the next for you in the rehab process?
Just hurry up and wait, to be honest. There’s really nothing I can do from a push it stand point. Kinda wait and get healthy and get back into the swing of things.
How would you describe this past season both for you having to go through the injuries and for the Bears as a team?
It was just a long year. We couldn’t get healthy and we’re looking forward to next year.
For you personally, who are the D-line guys that are the toughest to matchup with in the NFL and who are the guys you look forward to playing against?
Oh man, they’re all really tough. Mike Daniels, Geno Atkins, Ndamukong Suh, Aaron Donald, JJ Watt, Gerald McCoy. Just look at our schedule and look at the D-tackles.
Is there anything you wish people understood better about line play? That seems like the one people outside of the game have the hardest time analyzing.
Because it requires actually knowing football and watching football instead of just making your fantasy update. It’s just the way it is. Fans are fans. People are clueless. We love the fans, but at the same time they can be our worst enemy, and that’s probably the same way they feel about us. “We love Kyle Long, but he just loves to get the quarterback killed,” you know. That’s just the relationship the fans and players have.
Is there anything worse than the screengrab of a “non-called hold” when people take a screenshot of a full motion play and post to Twitter?
Yeah. I’m just going to stop getting on Twitter is what I’m going to do. I’ve said I don’t care about people’s opinions for a long time, but I’ve hit that refresh button about a million times a day. So, it’s hard to fight that.
You are a vocal and active guy on Twitter. Has there been a moment where anyone from the Bears organization has kinda asked you to be less active or careful on there, or do they just let you cook?
You’re asking if I have a baby-sitter? Yes. The answer is yes.
When did that start?
Rookie year.
Is there a screening process?
No. They have people in the media department that will be like, “Heeeyyyy, you should probably, you know…yada yada yada.”
What are their feelings towards your Twitch stream?
They make sure I’m clothed and sober and not committing any crimes while I’m live-streaming. You know, I just always want to turn it on while I’m naked and drunk — I’m just kidding.
You’re a PC guy for your gaming, right?
Yeah, PC.
What are your favorite games you’re playing right now?
Right now I’m playing iRacing. I’ve been playing Counterstrike and a little bit of Overwatch.
All-time, what’s your favorite game?
Probably Counterstrike just because it’s been re-released so many times and updated.
With your Twitch feed you do donations to your brother’s Waterboys Foundation. When did you come up with the idea to tie the two things together and can you speak to what you and your brother and everyone are doing there?
Well, Waterboys.Org is a clean-water initiative in Tanzania, East Africa. Solar-powered water wells that can stand up to 5,000 people for five years. Costs 45,000 to do it. Provides jobs and limits water-born illness. My older brother [Chris, DE for the Patriots] climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with James Hall a few years ago and that’s when Chris really saw first-hand the issues that they were having with water and wanted to do something about it and they started Waterboys. Which, I’ve raised over 70k playing video games in three months, for people we don’t even know. I think it’s an awesome concept and people that have a problem with me streaming can stop because we’re doing awesome things.
https://twitter.com/Ky1eLong/status/806934700086456320
Is there anyone else in the league that is a gamer, or anyone you talk about that stuff with on the Bears?
I’m the only one. All my friends have pencil mustaches and Warcraft shirts.
What was it like growing up in the Long household with your dad being an NFL player and you and your brother being future NFL players?
It was definitely a lot of fun. Tons of food in our house and a lot of road trips. OK, so our high school game would end on Friday and we’d drive to the airport to go to Miami to see my brother play on Saturday and then we’d be back at our house on Sunday and we’d see dad on TV on Sunday and it’d be like, what the hell. Then I got to college and then I got to the NFL, and it’s really been the same thing. We’ve been living in this Groundhog Day for a long time and the NFL has provided us with a lot of great opportunities.
You had a chance this fall to do a joint practice with the Pats. How much fun is it when you get a chance to compete with your brother Chris?
It was really awesome. Obviously having played him before, it’s a different experience then getting to go out there and doing stretch lines, individual period, one-on-ones. It’s just funny. And for everyone else to step back and say, “they’re brothers, they’re going against each other,” it’s pretty cool stuff.
Your dad had a bit of an acting career. Do you have a favorite movie of his?
Favorite movie of my dad’s. I’m jealous that he flew a helicopter in 3,000 Miles to Graceland because I want to get my helicopter pilot’s license. I guess he was kind of Desert Storm-y there in Broken Arrow. He kind of went rogue. I would’ve went with the good guys, he went with the bad guys. Yeah, I think he dies in all of the movies too, so I don’t know if acting is even something I even want to do because I feel like you’re just going to die repeatedly. Unless you’re Bruce Willis, in which case you’re just the supreme badass.
So you don’t have a whole lot of aspirations for an acting career post-football?
If they come out with a Die Hard 7, I’m down.
You’d be out there.
I can say yippee ki yay.
You have done some acting with the Campbell’s Chunky Soup Everyman All-Star League commercials, which are delightful I must add. I need some soup rankings. I need hot soup takes from you. Can you give me a top three soups?
Top three soups. OK, I’d probably start off with the obvious, the clam chowder, because you can’t go wrong in the winter time with some clam chowder. Creamy chicken noodle as well, that’s a classic favorite there that you can’t go wrong with. It’s a staple here at Campbell’s. And we’ll finish with the Chili Mac, beans, macaroni pasta and meat. You’ve got your elbow mac, your ground beef, there’s a lot of stuff going on there. They take care of you over here at Campbell’s.
