By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor
Chris Long spent two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles before his role would have been changed and he had an unceremonious retirement from the NFL.
The veteran simply didn’t take a contract and decided to focus on other ventures.
On the most recent episode of his podcast, The Green Light Pod, the two-time Super Bowl Champion did discuss a possible retirement, however.
In a bit of a surprising statement, he said that his inclination was to retire with the Eagles should he have a formal retirement.
In Philly, it was like the city just got a hold of me. So if I ever do the official retirement, something, I’ll probably do it as an Eagle.
The reasoning Long gave for the answer was one that is certainly understandable to many of the fans he represented.
Most of his career was spent in St. Louis with the Rams, but the team’s move to LA makes him feel distant because the team no longer represents the fans and city he played for.
While Long also won a Super Bowl in New England, he said Philadelphia is where he would want to hold the event because of his connection with the fans.
Long’s connection with the community in Philadelphia lead to his winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
Philly fans can revel in the fact that one of their favorite athletes in recent memory holds them in a similarly high regard.
Of course, Long mentioned that he might just head to a bar in St. Louis to retire in the city he spent the first eight of his 11 seasons in the NFL – and you can’t fault him for that loyalty.