Who knew a bruising, 6-foot-6, 332-pound football player could be so poetic?
Longtime bears offensive lineman Kyle Long, who was selected to three Pro Bowls in his first three years in the NFL, recently announced that he is coming out of retirement to continue his journey in professional football.
Related
He wasn't out of the league for long, as he announced his retirement a little over a year ago following a series of injuries in the latter half of his first NFL stint. And though he probably didn't miss that component of the game, which left him with a torn labrum and strained triceps among other ailments, there were plenty of aspects to his career that he did miss. He joined his big bro Chris Long and Macon Gunter, who broke the news of his unretirement, in the latest episode of Chalk Media's "Green Light with Chris Long," and he spoke about what he misses.
"The people, the abundance of clean clothes [in the locker room], the fact that there actually is somebody doing you're laundry..." Long said, before getting into more serious, vivid answers. "I miss sitting next to the d-line after a hard practice and talking smack about how they all said I was holding.
"I miss sitting with the offensive line at breakfast at six in the morning. I miss the group texts. I miss all of it, man. I miss competing. I miss lining up and saying, 'watch this sh--.' Like, you get in the huddle, the play's called, you turn to your buddy and you say, 'watch this sh--.' I miss that."
If that doesn't paint a vivid picture of the life of an NFL offensive lineman, especially one who's aching (no pun intended) for a return and reminiscing about old times, I don't know what will.
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM Sports
Twitter | Facebook I Instagram