LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) -- The Bears and veteran guard Kyle Long are looking to move past an ugly practice altercation last Wednesday night in which Long swung a helmet at rookie defensive lineman Jalen Dalton.
After an apparent internal suspension, Long returned to work with the Bears this week and made his contrition known to the team.
"What I did was absolutely unacceptable," Long said after practice Tuesday. "As a human being, as a teammate without question, what I did was uncalled for and absolutely so far over the line. It was on me to handle that internally and speak to the people that I needed to speak to, and I've done that.
"This is a league about action. It's not a league about talking about it. The thing I need to continue to do is go out on a day-to-day basis and try to prove to the men in this locker room who don't me very well or have some questions about my character and just try to move forward and try to prove the man that I am on a daily basis.
"It was wrong, what I did. In a lapse of judgment, that's where I ended up."
Early in the Bears' game-simulating scrimmage last Wednesday, Long was involved in a heated altercation with the undrafted Dalton. Long ripped the helmet from Dalton's head and swung it in his direction. Long was escorted off the practice field and didn't return to action. Long then didn't travel with the Bears for their preseason game in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday.
"We're past it," coach Matt Nagy said. "Now it's not about talking anymore. For us it's about everybody showing what we can do. It's showing by your actions, whether that's being a good football player or being a good person, I always tell my kids, 'Don't talk about it; be about it.' So it's time to start being about it."
Long has been involved in similar incidents before. During a training camp practice in 2017, Long had to be restrained from multiple teammates -- including fellow offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu -- before being ejected. Long also was part of a fight against the Rams in a 2013 game, in which he was restrained by his brother, then-Rams defensive lineman Chris Long.
The 30-year-old Long spoke earlier in August about his joy being around such a close-knit Bears team. That chemistry is part of why it was viewed as important for Long to own his mistake.
"It's immediate regret," Long said. "In a momentary lapse of judgment, I cost myself a lot of personal equity. People don't like to see stuff like that. It does not feel good to be the one that's responsible for it. I'm trying to take ownership of it and move forward."
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
