Eagles’ Chris Long doesn’t seem as optimistic about returning as he once did

Before, it seemed like Chris Long’s return to the Philadelphia Eagles was a sure thing. Nowadays, that’s not the case.

Will the Philadelphia Eagles get their veteran defensive end, Chris Long, back? At first, it seemed like there was no way he would pack up and retire before his contract expires. But now it seems as though his chances of retiring are quite realistic. Long has one more season left on his contract, and the Eagles planned to turn some that salary money into a bonus for now in order to clear up cap space. Once he found out they were doing that though, Long decided he wouldn’t accept the money for now until he knows his final decision to play or not in 2019.

Last month, Long seemed very adamant to returning to Philly for the 2019 season. He stated he felt terrific about his previous two seasons with the team and feels like he can still get the job done. Also, he still had the itch to play. Typically, when you’re ready to retire, you just know. At the time though, Long didn’t have that feeling that he wanted to hang up his cleats just yet. That was last month though, nowadays the veteran defensive end is quite undecided.

Which way is Long leaning towards?

“I’m pretty undecided, but from the looks of things they’re going to make it hard for me in my favorite city. In March, I really wanted to play. Now, I don’t know.” Long told USA Today while in Arlington for the Players Coalition meeting recently. While Long doesn’t have a final decision, and probably won’t for some time now, it sounds like he is trying hard to get into a mindstate where he feels good about returning but right now it seems like he’s having a difficult time trying to decide.

Long did confirm two things during his brief discussion with USA Today though. One, if he is going to return, it will most likely be to the Eagles since he’s fallen in love with the city and the locker room. Plus, he doesn’t really care to learn an entirely new system for the fourth time in his career just for one season. And number two – Long will most likely not be present for OTAs if he does decide to come back and play. Typically, Long shows up for the voluntary portion of the offseason, but he’s at the point on of his career now where he doesn’t feel up for it.