Bears put guard Kyle Long on injured reserve

Kyle Long won’t play for another eight weeks — if at all this season.

The Bears put their three-time Pro Bowl guard on injured reserve Saturday, starting an eight-week clock before he can return from the right foot tendon injury he suffered Sunday against the Jets.

Per league rules, the Bears can’t activate him until before their season finale Dec. 30 against the Vikings. He’d then be eligible for any potential postseason play, too.

The Bears made the move Saturday to start the clock before Sunday’s games.

Coach Matt Nagy said Thursday he hoped the team could avoid IR with Long. Instead, he went on the shelf for the third-straight year. The previous two times — he had a shoulder injury in December 2017 and a grisly ankle injury in November 2016 — ended Long’s season.

The Bears filled Long’s roster spot by promoting practice squad running back Taquan Mizzell. They said, too, that defensive tackle Bilal Nichols (knee) and tight end Ben Braunecker (concussion) did not fly Saturday to Buffalo, ruling them out of Sunday’s game.

Nichols, a rookie who has showed flashes of excellence in limited work, missed the last two practices despite Nagy’s original assertion the Bears were simply being cautious.