{"id":10831,"date":"2017-03-01T17:37:40","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T22:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=10831"},"modified":"2017-03-01T17:37:40","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T22:37:40","slug":"long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Patriots will part ways with veteran DE Chris Long and he will play elsewhere in 2017after winning a Super Bowl with New England. Long signed a modest one-year deal with the Pats in 2016, in part to having a chance to play for a winner and to reignite his game after the back-to-back injury plagued years.<\/p>\n<p>Long took to social media to announce his decision, thank the fans of New England and to explain his decision about moving on. It sounded like Long, although he bought in completely with how he was utilized with the Patriots, wasn\u2019t happy inside about his role and was wanting to do what he\u2019d always done. &#8220;This has zero to do with money &#8230; it&#8217;s the right move in my heart because I want to get back to being the player I was before. I&#8217;m thankful for my role this year, but as a competitor, I&#8217;m itching to do what I do best.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-10834\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Chris-Long-says-bye-2.jpg\" width=\"625\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Chris-Long-says-bye-2.jpg 980w, https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Chris-Long-says-bye-2-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Long was immediately welcomed as an established, respected veteran in the Patriots locker room and seemed like a perfect fit both on and off the field. He signed for just $2.35 million dollars last spring and later said, he\u2019d have played for nothing.<\/p>\n<p>He worked his way into being a starter in New England and played about 65 percent of the defensive snaps in the regular season. Long led the Patriots with 29 combined QB sacks (4), hits (8) and pressures with 17 in 2016. Although he played only 15 snaps in the Super Bowl against Atlanta, he had a big impact on the plays where he was on the field.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10781\" style=\"width: 635px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10781\" class=\"wp-image-10781 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Long-Slater2-1024x982.jpg\" width=\"625\" height=\"599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Long-Slater2-1024x982.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Long-Slater2-300x288.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Long-Slater2-1536x1473.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Long-Slater2.jpg 1744w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10781\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chris Long will not be returning to the Patriots in 2017. (SBalestrieri photo)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>He drew a key holding penalty with the Falcons in field goal range that could have iced the game for Atlanta. Instead, after the call, it knocked them out of range. He also was right in Matt Ryan\u2019s face as well as Dont\u2019a Hightower on the sack where Hightower stripped the ball loose late in the game.<\/p>\n<p>Long, a 6\u20193, 270-pound defensive end will turn 32 later this month. And although he\u2019s closer to the end of his career than the beginning, still has enough left in the tank to bring another team a veteran, professional presence as a pass rusher.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SteveB7SFG\"><em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/patspub.patsfans.com\/stevebpatsfans@gmail.com\"><em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Listen to our\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.blogtalkradio.com\/patriotsfourthandtwo\"><em>Patriots 4<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0podcasts on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/\"><em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Long led the Patriots with 29 combined QB sacks (4), hits (8) and pressures with 17 in 2016 and played in 65 percent of the snaps in the regular season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":9605,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1319,11],"tags":[1066,800,1320,1329,34,929,154,16,44,70,8,38,36,35],"class_list":["post-10831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2017-free-agency","category-patriots-commentary","tag-2016-nfl-season","tag-2016-patriots-season","tag-2017-free-agency","tag-2017-patriots-free-agents","tag-bill-belichick","tag-chris-long","tag-donta-hightower","tag-jabaal-sheard","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-rob-ninkovich","tag-trey-flowers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Long led the Patriots with 29 combined QB sacks (4), hits (8) and pressures with 17 in 2016 and played in 65 percent of the snaps in the regular season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017 | PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Long led the Patriots with 29 combined QB sacks (4), hits (8) and pressures with 17 in 2016 and played in 65 percent of the snaps in the regular season.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-01T22:37:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg?fit=1579%2C1089&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1579\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1089\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Balestrieri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SteveB7SFG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@patsfans\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\"},\"headline\":\"So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-01T22:37:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":442,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/12\\\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2016 NFL Season\",\"2016 Patriots season\",\"2017 free agency\",\"2017 Patriots free agents\",\"Bill Belichick\",\"Chris Long\",\"Dont'a Hightower\",\"Jabaal Sheard\",\"New England Patriots\",\"NFL\",\"Patriots\",\"Patriots edge rushers\",\"Rob Ninkovich\",\"Trey Flowers\"],\"articleSection\":[\"2017 Free Agency\",\"Patriots Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/\",\"name\":\"So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/12\\\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-01T22:37:40+00:00\",\"description\":\"Long led the Patriots with 29 combined QB sacks (4), hits (8) and pressures with 17 in 2016 and played in 65 percent of the snaps in the regular season.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/12\\\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/12\\\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg\",\"width\":1579,\"height\":1089,\"caption\":\"Winslow Townson - USA TODAY Sports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/01\\\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2017 Free Agency\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/2017-free-agency\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"description\":\"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"PatsFans.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/patsfans\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@patsfans.official\"],\"foundingDate\":\"2000-06-17\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\",\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Steve Balestrieri\"},\"description\":\"A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/steve.balestrieri\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/SteveB7SFG\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/sbalestrieri\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017","description":"Long led the Patriots with 29 combined QB sacks (4), hits (8) and pressures with 17 in 2016 and played in 65 percent of the snaps in the regular season.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017 | PatsFans.com","og_description":"Long led the Patriots with 29 combined QB sacks (4), hits (8) and pressures with 17 in 2016 and played in 65 percent of the snaps in the regular season.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/","og_site_name":"PatsFans.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","article_published_time":"2017-03-01T22:37:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1579,"height":1089,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg?fit=1579%2C1089&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Balestrieri","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SteveB7SFG","twitter_site":"@patsfans","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/"},"author":{"name":"Steve Balestrieri","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da"},"headline":"So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017","datePublished":"2017-03-01T22:37:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/"},"wordCount":442,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg","keywords":["2016 NFL Season","2016 Patriots season","2017 free agency","2017 Patriots free agents","Bill Belichick","Chris Long","Dont'a Hightower","Jabaal Sheard","New England Patriots","NFL","Patriots","Patriots edge rushers","Rob Ninkovich","Trey Flowers"],"articleSection":["2017 Free Agency","Patriots Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/","name":"So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg","datePublished":"2017-03-01T22:37:40+00:00","description":"Long led the Patriots with 29 combined QB sacks (4), hits (8) and pressures with 17 in 2016 and played in 65 percent of the snaps in the regular season.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg","width":1579,"height":1089,"caption":"Winslow Townson - USA TODAY Sports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/long-chris-long-wont-return-patriots-2017\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"2017 Free Agency","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/category\/2017-free-agency\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"So Long\u2026 Chris Long Won\u2019t Return to the Patriots in 2017"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","name":"PatsFans.com","description":"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization","name":"PatsFans.com","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"PatsFans.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","https:\/\/x.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/patsfans\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@patsfans.official"],"foundingDate":"2000-06-17"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da","name":"Steve Balestrieri","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Steve Balestrieri"},"description":"A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","https:\/\/x.com\/SteveB7SFG"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/author\/sbalestrieri\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/2016-Week-13-Chris-Long-Brll5.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10831"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10836,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10831\/revisions\/10836"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}