Bobbie Massie couldn’t say no to Kyle Long’s Bears pitch

Other teams had other things that enticed new Bears right tackle Bobby Massie. He wouldn’t quite say, but his smile and hesitation also seemed to suggest that more money was out there, too.

But the Bears have Kyle Long, and that made all the difference.

“A couple things were there at other places,” Massie said Thursday after being introduced at Halas Hall. “But the opportunity to come here, play beside a dominant guard in the league, who is a good friend of mine, that played a big part in it.”

Massie’s relationship with Long stretches beyond their workouts together O-Line Performance in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has known Long since they were top high school recruits in Virginia.

Massie shared a brief story of how he sparred with Long during a game his senior season after injuring one of Long’s teammates.

“Big Kyle came over and just hit me with an elbow in my head and I swung back at Kyle,” Massie said. ‘They had to come break us up. It was raining and Howie [Long] came down [with] his umbrella like Batman.”

Now, Massie and Long make up the right side of the Bears’ offensive line. His arrival moves Long make to right guard, where he’s one best in the league.

Massie was impressed by general manager Ryan Pace’s pitch, but nothing matches Long’s sales job. Massie called him a “good recruiter.”

“I couldn’t say exactly what he said,” Massie said, laughing. “It wouldn’t be good or be appropriate. [It was] just forget every other team and come to Chicago, basically.”

From a personality standout, Massie appears to fit the mold the Bears are looking for under Pace and coach John Fox. The main blemish on Massie’s resume is a DUI arrest in January 2015. It was a unique case, where Massie reportedly drove to the Cardinals’ team facility and parked, which prompted a security guard to call police. He served a two-game suspension for it last season.

“There was no concern addressed to me [from the Bears],” Massie said. “It’s behind me. Everybody makes mistakes. That was a mistake I made and I lived and I learned from it. That’s not something I see happening again in the future. That’s behind me.”

Massie, of course, likes what’s ahead for him, starting with lining next to Long.

“I’m here to move people and keep Jay Cutler upright,” Massie said.

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Email: ajahns@suntimes.com