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Bears great Kyle Long has a pragmatic take on the Bears’ possible move to Hammond, Ind.
by RJ OchoaJun 9, 2026, 9:01 PM UTC
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 23: Kyle Long #75 of the Chicago Bears looks on during the second half against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on September 23, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) Getty ImagesThe Chicago Bears may soon be operating out of Indiana. It is weird.
Part of the reason — some would argue the main reason — is that Chicago is not even in Indiana. I’m a Texas guy myself, so the thought of a major city being so close to another state is strange, but Chicago and Indiana are so close that these semantics aren’t all that big of an issue to some.
Time will tell if the politics at play ultimately do send the Bears to a different state, but the writing is on the wall and it is starting to look more probable than not.
Recently I had the chance to talk to a Bears great in Kyle Long, and obviously I was curious where he stood on the subject. He was extremely thoughtful in a way that was impressive. I’m not as close to the subject as noted, but I think anyone who is and is against the Indiana idea should at least see what Kyle had to say.
“Hammond, Indiana. Okay. If you’ve been to Soldier Field and you’ve been on the lakefront and you are somebody that is a romantic like myself, that’s where football should be played, on the lakefront right in front of those giant skyscrapers, right next to that big, beautiful park with the best coach in football, with one of the best young quarterback. But that ain’t happening. Grow up, Peter Pan. I’m talking to myself. Grow up, Peter Pan.”
“That ain’t happening. Okay. Arlington Heights. One of the most state-of-the-art beautiful property in the north suburbs. Arlington Heights. I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, but they have a racetrack that they demolished there that I said, ‘Oh, it’s a no-brainer. They would never knock down something of such historical significance to Chicago.‘ Well, it didn’t work. Hammond, Indiana is happening. Okay, now let’s let’s not play doom and gloom. Let’s do a little mental health check in and say, what are the positives here? The positives are it’s closer to downtown. It’s closer to downtown than Arlington Heights would be. It’s in fact 30 minutes closer to downtown than where the Bears training facility is on the north side in Lake Forest where I lived. You get the unique opportunity. It’s almost like I’m going to use the phrase, I don’t fully understand it, but I’m going to use the phrase manifest destiny. Okay? Remember when people were just moving west and they’re like, I’m going to put a flag down here.”
“This looks like a nice little hill. This is my hill. I’m going to call it Johnny’s Hill. You know, like I think about all the it’s the American dream. Well, you know what? It didn’t work out in Chicago. So, just follow that coast south down to Hammond, Indiana. And I can promise you this, if they do it the right way, like a number of these teams have done, you get the opportunity to have a state-of-the-art venue for anything that you want. You get the opportunity to own your stadium and the land around it outright. You get to make it exactly how you want to make it. And I’ve heard a lot of things about Hammond, Indiana. More often than not, not good things. But I can guarantee you this. There are people, there are kids, there are generations of Bears fans that are down there that are so excited to welcome you and show you that area with open arms and you get to make it yours.”
“Now, I know that’s a slap in the face to a lot of people, including myself, but it’s time to get to the next level. And they can do that there. Winning to me, what does success look like to me? It looks like a quarterback that’s on schedule in first and second down and continues to do what he does on third down and in the fourth quarter. I think building a defense that can stop the run and rush the passer on third down and got to have it rush downs. That would be great. I think everything is moving in the right direction and I think this Hammond, Indiana thing is a unique opportunity for the Bears to really take the next step.”
“I remember when St. Louis moved to LA, and granted, it was a lot more miles for that move. They become a serious contender overnight and the Bears already are a serious contender. So imagine what happens if you pump some caffeine into that.”
I’d also asked Kyle what would define success for a Bears team that is coming off of one of their more exciting seasons in recent memory. He tied the ideas together really well, and as mentioned I found his optimistic spin on the situation to be impressive.
This doesn’t change the fact that the location is what it is, but Kyle is right that an NFL team owning their own infrastructure is a huge plus. Teams like my Dallas Cowboys, the Minnesota Vikings, and others across the league have developed their own training complexes that serve as their world headquarters. The Bears are, seemingly, on the precipice of doing that, and I get where Kyle is coming from that that is the ultimate goal.
Kyle’s disposition was really admirable and we spent a lot of time talking about it way beyond the scope of football or his Bears. He joined us to talk about his work with Johnson & Johnson and specifically the “Generation Fine” initiative of theirs that challenges what it is to feel “fine” amid battles against depression.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) today announced the launch of Generation Fine, a global campaign designed to challenge what it means to feel “fine” in depression care and empower patients to take the first step in moving beyond “good enough” by talking with their healthcare provider. Informed by a global survey of patients and healthcare providers spanning seven countries and four continents, the campaign reflects a troubling reality: nearly 4 in 5 patients living with major depressive disorder (MDD) don’t believe antidepressants will help them reach remission. Developed in collaboration with leading mental health advocates and drawing on the expertise of Mental Health America, Generation Fine highlights the unique challenges and experiences of people living with depression and provides valuable resources to support more productive conversations about their care—including the possibility of remission.
“I’ve battled depression at different stages of my life, including during my career in the NFL, and for a long time I felt like I had to ‘tough it out’ and handle it by myself,” said Kyle Long, NFL Alum and former Chicago Bears Offensive Lineman. “When I stopped trying to fight it alone and started being honest with myself and my support system, including my doctor, everything changed. Speaking up about what you’re feeling isn’t weakness—it’s the strongest play you can make.”
Kyle Long is doing incredible work, and football fans can see him talking about the game we all love every week on CBS this upcoming season.
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