Philadelphia Eagles: Could Chris Long retire before the 2018 season?
After winning consecutive Super Bowl titles, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long may be considering retirement after a decade in the NFL.
Like oh so many blue-chip NBA prospects, it looks like Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long may be a one-and-done in the City of Brotherly Love.
That’s right, for the second time in as three years, Long may be mauling over his retirement from the NFL, even after pulling off a pair of most improbable back-to-back Super Bowl victories on two different teams.
When asked about his future in the league in a recent conversation with SB Nation‘s Charlotte Wilder, Long lamented:
"I don’t know yet. I’m working something out right now. At 32, you have limited time left to play the game you love, so the role has to be exactly right for me. I can still play at a high level, and I’m hungry to play, but every player my age has to weigh how they want to go out. The 25-year-old me would tell the 32-year-old me to take the two rings and go start the next chapter in life, but it’s never simple when you still have gas left in the tank. We’ll have to see what shakes out. So short answer, I have no idea. I love Philly though. The city would make it hard to walk away."
Though this quote doesn’t necessarily guarantee that Long will be hanging up his cleats before the 2018 NFL season, it does paint a player who’s seriously questioning his future in the league, which is fairly concerning new for Philly fans still bathing in the afterglow of the franchises first Super Bowl victory.
While Long didn’t start for the Eagles in 2017, he was an invaluable addition to Jim Schwartz‘s punishing defensive line, racking up five sacks and an incredible four forced fumbles in his 10th season in the league, and provided a much-needed spark to the team’s second team line.
And for how good Long played on the field, he was an even better citizen off the field.
At this point it’s basically common knowledge that Long donated each and every one of his paychecks to charity this season, in addition to continuing to promote both his clean water initiative Waterboys and racial equality throughout the league, and that, when coupled with his now infamous parade fur coat has cemented Long as one of Philly’s favorite songs, right alongside his Villanova alum father.
While adding Michael Bennett to the fold will surely make the Eagles defensive line better moving forward, as the 32-year-old defensive end will essentially serve as an upgrade for Vinny Curry‘s role as an inside-out rusher, but his addition comes as a somewhat of a hollow victory if it means losing a pair of reliable rotation ends.
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If Long does retire before the forthcoming season, it will leave the Eagles with only two defensive ends under contract in 2019, 32-year-old Bennett and 2016 first round pick Derek Barnett, and a startling lack of proven NFL talent coming off the edge.
And losing Long doesn’t just hurt the team on the field, but in the locker room as well.
Though he’s only been in South Philly for one season, it’s clear that Long has established himself as one of the teams emotional leaders alongside Malcolm Jenkins, Carson Wentz, and Jason Peters, and helped to establish a championship culture in South Philly the likes of which our fair city has never before seen. While we will never know how much this maturity and wisdom helped the team’s younger players down the stretch, it’s clear that Long wasn’t just brought in to collect a paycheck and rush the passer.
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If Chris Long does decide to retire after 10 seasons in the league, he will surely go down as one of the best people to ever suit up for the Philadelphia Eagles in franchise history, but if the team can squeak one more season out of the 32-year-old veteran, it could go a long way to helping them return to the Super Bowl, and earn the defensive end his third straight Lombardi Trophy.