Bears Place Kyle Long, Mitch Unrein On IR
As expected, the Bears have placed right guard Kyle Long on injured reserve. Defensive end Mitch Unrein has also been shut down for the year. 
On Tuesday morning, coach John Fox indicated that this was a likely outcome for Long. It’s undoubtedly a frustrating end to the year for the veteran. Last year, he suffered a painful leg injury in the eighth game of the season. This time around, it’s a shoulder malady that will keep him from the field in the final month of the season.
Unrein was starting for the Bears at defensive end, so they’ll have to turn to reserves Jonathan Bullard and Roy Robertson-Harris for support. The Bears are also expected to add a bookend to the mix.
In 12 games this year, Unrein recorded 31 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus, which has Unrein listed as an interior defender, gives him a career-high 83.9 score for his work this year. That’s good for No. 29 among all interior defenders.
Bears May Shut Down Kyle Long
Kyle Long‘s season could be over. The Bears could park the offensive guard on the bench after he exited Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. 
“I think that’s a possibility,” coach John Fox said (via Patrick Finley of the Sun-Times). “Again I don’t want to say yes, I don’t want to say no at this point.”
It’s a lost season for the 3-9 Bears, so there’s not much reason to keep Long on the field in light of his lengthy injury history. Last offseason, Long underwent ankle surgery after he “tore everything but his Achilles.” This year, he continues to deal with pain in that area plus a nasty finger injury. He has managed to play in more than 62% of the Bears’ snaps this season, but his 73.8 overall score from Pro Football Focus is a career low.
Long is under contract with the Bears through 2021 thanks to the four-year contract extension he signed with the Bears last fall. He is scheduled to carry a $8.848MM cap number in 2018.
NFL Workout Updates: 12/4/17
Here’s today’s workout news from around the NFL:
Chicago Bears
- K Mike Nugent; TE’s Jace Amaro, Devon Cajuste, Gavin Escobar (via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune) (Twitter link)
Detroit Lions
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WR’s Eric Rogers, Daikiel Shorts; C Freddie Burden; OG’s Darrell Greene, Ian Silberman; OT Taylor Hart (via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News ) (Twitter link)
Green Bay Packers
- WR Al Riles; C Parker Collins (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Bears Place Cairo Santos On IR, Expected To Sign Mike Nugent
Chicago has already gone through two kickers this season and will now add one more to the list in Week 14. The team has placed current kicker Cairo Santos on injured reserve thanks to a groin injury, reports Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Biggs adds in another tweet that the Bears are expected to replace him with veteran Mike Nugent.
Santos, 26, was signed by the team two weeks ago to replace Connor Barth. In that time, the former Kansas City placekicker converted just one of his two field goal tries to make him 4-5 on the year if you include his first three games of the season as a member of the Chiefs.
The 26-year-old had a decent three-year run in Kansas City before he was eventually replaced by Harrison Butker when Santos consequently suffered another groin injury earlier in the season.
In Nugent, Chicago brings in a kicker with a lot of experience. The 35-year-old is now playing in his 14th year in the NFL after most recently filling in for Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey for four games while Bailey was recovering from an injury of his own. However, Nugent was not steady during his short stint with Dallas, as he missed three of the seven kicks he tried. In his career, Nugent has converted just over 80% of his field goals, with his longest make coming from 55 yards out.
Chicago has not seemed to be able to get their kicking game right since the team moved on from its long-time kicker Robbie Gould after the 2015-16 season. They’ll likely be looking for a new full-time option to lock down the spot as they head into the offseason in a few weeks.
How Big Of Changes Could Be Coming This Offseason?
The Bears most recent loss to San Francisco this afternoon has Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun Times asking, “What’s left to evaluate?” in terms of what the franchise should do this offseason.
Practice Squad Updates: 12/2/2017
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: OL Isaiah Battle
New England Patriots
- Signed: DT Marcus Hardison
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Howard Jones
- Waived: TE Colin Thompson
49ers Wanted To Hire DC Vic Fangio
The 49ers considered Mitch Trubisky with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft before deciding to trade the pick to the Bears, who ended up selecting the North Carolina product, coach Kyle Shanahan told NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco.
Shanahan will get to see Trubisky up close on Sunday when the Niners travel to take on the Bears.
- Sticking with the Bears and 49ers theme; Shanahan also said he was interested in hiring Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. A well-respected and longtime NFL coach, Fangio could be a candidate to replace John Fox in Chicago, should the coach be let go in the coming weeks. “I think Vic definitely deserves to be [a head coach]. He’s one of the coaches I’ve respected the most, just from going against him,” Shanahan said.
- Though Fangio is an option, the Bears are likely to invest in an offensive coach to groom Trubisky, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Leading the list, of course, is Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel, who always seems to be atop everyone’s wish list.
Bears Activate DB Deiondre’ Hall
Deiondre’ Hall is set to make his season debut this weekend. Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune reports (via Twitter) that the Bears have activated the safety from the injured reserve. To make room on the roster, the team has placed linebacker Isaiah Irving on the IR.
After injuring his hamstring during the preseason, the 23-year-old finally returned to practice in late November. A fourth-round pick in 2016, Hall spent most of his rookie campaign on the Bears’ special teams unit, compiling nine tackles (he also added three passes defended) in eight games. During the offseason, the organization decided to switch the Northern Iowa product to safety, and Hall could end up starting at the position on Sunday. Campbell notes that either Hall or Chris Prosinski, who was signed by the organization earlier this week, are expected to get that starting nod.
Meanwhile, Irving suffered a knee injury during practice earlier this week. The undrafted rookie out of San Jose State ended up appearing in five games for Chicago, compiling five tackles. This is just another hit to the team’s embattled linebacker corps, as the Bears are already without Leonard Floyd, Willie Young, Jerrell Freeman, and potentially Danny Trevathan.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/30/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
Chicago Bears
- Waived: OLB Howard Jones
Details On Tre McBride's Release
- Some reports have indicated that wide receiver Tre McBride was waived by the Bears because of an argument with teammate Josh Bellamy. Coach John Fox didn’t directly confirm the rumblings about the rumble, but he hinted at that being the case. “I didn’t hear it, but I can just say that that happens on the sideline, that happens in meetings, that happens all the time,” Fox said, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. “I just think that [meeting] room is closer to y’all than I probably would have designed it. I think that’s par for the course in football. That’s not the first argument I’ve ever experienced.”
- The Bears made some moves on Thursday morning. First, safety Chris Prosinski was re-signed. Then, the team brought safety Quintin Demps back off of IR.