John Fox: ‘Possibility’ Bears shut down Kyle Long with shoulder issue

Kyle Long might have played his last down of the season, coach John Fox conceded one day after the guard left in the second quarter with a shoulder injury.

“I think that’s a possibility,” he said. “Again I don’t want to say yes, I don’t want to say no at this point.”

Long’s recent injury history — he had ankle surgery last offseason, but pain lasted into the season — could play a factor into the whether the Bears rush him back in a lost season.

Between recovering from the ankle injury and fighting a gruesome finger injury suffered against the Saints, Long has played 62.7 percent of the Bears’ snaps this season.

The Bears could add another outside linebacker, too, after Pernell McPhee left Sunday’s game during the 49ers’ first offensive drive with a shoulder injury. The Bears played the rest of the game with only two outside linebackers — veterans Sam Acho and Lamarr Houston.

Fox said McPhee had tests Monday and should again Tuesday.

“We’ll have a lot clearer idea by Wednesday,” he said.

The Bears could bring in a new placekicker this week, Fox said, after Cairo Santos was unable to kick anything from long distances after tweaking his groin injury during warmups.

It’s reasonable to wonder whether Santos should finish the season — cut by the Chiefs after three weeks, he spent two months rehabbing his groin before the Bears signed him.