NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018
Chad Kelly working out with Phil Simms
Posted by Mike Florio on February 21, 2018, 8:47 PM EDT
Overlooked and largely forgotten in the Denver Broncos’ quarterback conundrum is last year’s Mr. Irrelevant, the nephew of the incredibly relevant Jim Kelly. Now healthy after a season lost to pre-existing injuries, former Mississippi quarterback Chad Kellyis preparing for his chance to compete.
Jim Kelly has posted a video of Chad working outunder the supervision of quarterback Phil Simms.
Chad Kelly had wrist and knee problems that kept him on the non-football injury list for all of 2017. With Brock Osweiler likely gone via free agency (or just simply gone) and Trevor Siemian possibly traded, the depth chart may consist of Kelly, 2016 first-rounder Paxton Lynch, and whoever the team adds via free agency or the draft.
Given his genetics and performances at the college level, Chad Kelly continues to be an intriguing prospect for the Broncos. If G.M. John Elway believes in his potential, the team possibly won’t feel compelled to splurge financially on a veteran.
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Chris Long’s Next Mountain: After Super Bowl Summit, Eagle Eyes Kilimanjaro For Water Charity
By PETER KING - MMQBSI
February 14, 2018
If you’re a football fan of a certain age, you’ll identify with this riff on the old Disney World/Disneyland commercial that ran on network TV the week after the Super Bowl:
TV voice (off-camera): “Chris Long! You’ve just won the Super Bowl! What are you doing next!”
Chris Long (staring into camera, grinning): “I’m going halfway around the world to climb a 19,000-foot mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro!”
Sixteen days after winning Super Bowl 52 with the Philadelphia Eagles, that’s exactly what the 32-year-old defensive end is going to do. (And apologies to those who don’t remember that’s exactly what Phil Simms, Joe Montana and Emmitt Smith did a generation ago—win the Super Bowl MVP and make some money by staring into the camera as the game wound down and saying, “I’m going to Disney World!” This year, it was Nick Foles’ turn.)
To raise money to build wells in drought-stricken east Africa, Long and 11 current and former players and U.S. military veterans will take off for Africa on Thursday night. The climb in Tanzania begins Tuesday. It should take them about six days to summit (for those who make it; the altitude KOs even some of the fittest of climbers) and a couple of days to come down.
This year, Long and his co-captain on the “Conquering Kili” trip, former U.S. Army Green Beret Nate Boyer, lead a team of 12 (plus a video crew) on the climb. That crew includes Rams linebacker Connor Barwin and three retired NFL players: quarterback Vince Young, running back Steven Jackson and tight end Tom Santi. Four retired military vets (two Marine, one Navy, one Army) will be on the climb.
ed one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history -- helped lead the Houston Rockets to the NBA title in 1995.
Long has made the climb twice—once late in his Ram years, and again last year. It was tougher last year; he said he really struggled with the altitude. But it also could have been the proximity to the season, and getting very little rest time after a Super Bowl year with the Patriots. Could be the same thing this year. Last night, Long, home in Virginia, was on the massage table till past 9 p.m. ET, still getting the kinks out after a six-and-a-half-month football season.
“I spend time outside,” Long said. “I hike, I trek, I climb. Doing it halfway around the world for eight days is different. But the toughest part is the altitude. Lots of people make it. But even the fittest guys struggle. Last year, we had a vet, an ultra-marathoner, totally bad-ass guy, who had to turn around. Altitude didn’t agree with him.
“The awareness for our cause, clean water in east Africa … this is our best platform. The world water crisis is huge, and it means so much to me that we’ve been able to raise enough money to build 32 wells in such desperate areas. We haven’t set a monetary goal this year, but if we could raise enough money for three or four wells [at $40,000 per well], that’s going to help so many people.
“It’s a cool opportunity to involve all of my passions—my foundation, my life, helping active and retired NFL dudes, and then our military. They have a need, a void, for service. Some vets want to get involved in a cause bigger than selves. And this is such a great cause.”
Long met Boyer three years ago, and got him involved in the cause. Boyer has been active in engaging returning vets (along with FOX’s Jay Glazer) to find causes meaningful to their lives once they return from active duty. Long figures the Waterboys-funded wells and clean water has made a big difference in the lives of 125,000 east Africans.
Kilimanjaro is 19,341 feet high. This will be Long’s third climb. “You start in a rainforest, move into the high desert, and on the sixth day, you’re summitting, and you’re on a glacier, and you’re on top of Africa. It’s quite amazing,” he said.
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Jimmy Interviews the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Published on Feb 7, 2018
Jimmy talks to the Philadelphia Eagles' Zach Ertz, Nelson Agholor, Jalen Mills, Chris Long and Alshon Jeffery about their historic Super Bowl LII win.
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Chris Long, Brandon Graham, & Alshon Jeffery Post Super Bowl LII Interview | NFL GameDay Prime
Published on Feb 4, 2018
Chris Long, Brandon Graham, & Alshon Jeffery interview with the GameDay Prime crew after the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl LII win over the New England Patriots.
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Eagles' LeGarrette Blount, Chris Long join exclusive group in Super Bowl history
Tom Schad, USA TODAY Published 9:16 a.m. ET Feb. 5, 2018 | Updated 12:32 p.m. ET Feb. 5, 2018
A pair of Philadelphia Eagles joined an exclusive club Sunday night.
With the Eagles' 41-33 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, running back LeGarrette Blount and defensive lineman Chris Long won back-to-back titles with different teams and played in both Super Bowls. It's something only two other players in NFL history have achieved, an unusual feat of luck — or, from Long's point of view, smarts.
"We just made good decisions, me and LG,'' he told reporters after the game.
According to Pro Football Talk, three other players have won rings with different teams in consecutive years — defensive backs Brandon Browner and Derrick Martin and offensive lineman Russ Hochstein — but they did not play in both Super Bowls.
Here's a look at the four players who have won consecutive Super Bowls with separate teams, how they got there and how they fared in the two title games
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Philadelphia's Chris Long Named 2018 Byron “Whizzer” White Community MVP Winner
February 1, 2018 - NFLPA
PHILADELPHIA’S CHRIS LONG NAMED 2018 BYRON “WHIZZER” WHITE COMMUNITY MVP WINNER
Defender becomes second straight Eagles player to earn NFLPA’s highest honor for his outreach efforts
MINNEAPOLIS – Philadelphia defensive lineman Chris Long has been named as the recipient of the 2018 Byron “Whizzer” White Community MVP Award. In recognition, the NFL Players Association will donate $100,000 to The Chris Long Foundation.
Long was announced as this year’s winner at the players union’s annual Super Bowl press conference on Thursday. The Whizzer White Community MVP Award is the highest honor that the NFLPA can bestow on a player for his profound dedication to positively impacting his team city and communities across the country in the spirit of the former Supreme Court Justice for which the award is named.
"I am honored to be recognized by my peers and the NFLPA as this year’s Byron “Whizzer” White award recipient,” Long said. “I am just one of many players this season using our platform to impact the world as proven by the work of the other finalists and my teammates. I hope my efforts and the work of other players continues to inspire fans to take action and be difference makers in their communities.”
The Eagles defender elected to play this past season for free after donating his entire salary to benefit educational equality and social justice reform. Long’s first six game checks went to funding a scholarship program at St. Anne’s-Belfield School, where he attended high school in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Then in October, the 10-year veteran announced that he was donating his last 10 game checks to programs that support educational equality in the three team cities where he’s played so far: Philadelphia, Boston and St. Louis. Through the “Pledge 10 for Tomorrow” campaign, he was able to match his own charitable contribution by raising another $1.3 million off of donations by fans and businesses.
These efforts through the Chris Long Foundation, which was established in 2015, marked yet another example of Long’s commitment to using his platform for good and service. After witnessing the suffering in Tanzania while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in 2013, Long started Waterboys two years later, uniting fans and players around the league to raise funds and awareness to build clean water wells in East Africa. As the staple of Long’s foundation, the initiative has built 31 water wells and raised $1.7 million to date while providing 111,000 people in Tanzania with clean water.
Long was chosen as this year’s winner from among five finalists following an electronic ballot vote that was open to all of his NFL peers from across the league. The finalists – Long, Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals), Colin Kaepernick, Von Miller (Denver Broncos) and J.J. Watt (Houston Texans) – were selected by an external committee of judges across labor, media, sport and charity from among the 18 Community MVPs awarded during the regular season.
Long becomes the second Philadelphia Eagle to earn this prestigious honor after his teammate, Malcolm Jenkins, was selected as the 2017 winner.
For more information on the Byron “Whizzer” White Community MVP Award, please visit NFLPA.com/community-mvp.