Guard Kyle Long, a three-time Pro Bowl player at the Chicago Bears, plans to make a turn.
Long, 32, has decided to end his NFL retirement after just one season away from the sport, reports Green Light Pod’s Macon Gunter.
It is coincidental that the 49ers have uncertainty, where four different players played during the 2020 season.
The 49ers can look for a veteran like Long. Or they could move forward with Daniel Brunskill or Colton McKivitz, a draft pick in the fifth round in 2020.
Long made three Pro Bowls from 2013 to ’15. But he has appeared in just 29 games in his last four seasons due to shoulder, triceps, foot and ankle injuries.
Long spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area in Miami a year ago about what made the 49ers attack so successful during his march to Super Bowl LIV.
“There’s a certain kind of person they want there,” Long said. “They have an archetype that is clear, tough and probably good communicators.”
Long singled out 49ers left-back Laken Tomlinson, who earned degrees at Duke University in anthropology and psychology. Tomlinson plans to become a neurosurgeon after his career is over.
‘Sheets can do open heart surgery. He can also diagnose lightning, “said Long. “But he’s also willing to put his neck out there and stab someone.”
Long said he could see a team with excellent camaraderie as he played the 49ers. It is, according to him, a tribute to general manager John Lynch, who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year.
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“It’s no surprise John Lynch built out of it. He gets it, ”Long said. “He was on both sides of it. And if I’m in a locker room and I know John Lynch is responsible for picking my teammates, I mean, come on.
‘Talk about the alpha guy, one of the worst people to ever walk on the field – this is John Lynch. Now he is responsible for building teams? Come on, it’s great. ”
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