Chicago Bears Get Some Badly Needed QB Protection In Trade For Chiefs’ Four-Time All-Pro Guard Joe Thuney

What, exactly, was it that allowed the Kansas City Chiefs to make the Super Bowl in five of the last six years?

The obvious answer is quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who’s widely acknowledged as the best quarterback in the NFL. Maybe a dominant defense, featuring six-time Pro Bowler Chris Jones. One factor you definitely didn’t think of, though, is the Chiefs’ offensive line – the one that gave up six sacks to the Philadelphia Eagles this past Super Bowl.

The offensive line held up well for most of the regular season, thanks in large part to the efforts of Trey Smith, a Pro Bowl right guard, and Joe Thuney, who made First Team All-Pro in 2024 as a left guard. With the postseason over and the Chiefs already in a cap crunch, though, new deals for Smith and Thuney were on the table. Smith, 25, is seven years younger. Unsurprisingly, Thuney was the casualty, being traded to the Chicago Bears for a 2026 fourth-round pick.

From Chicago’s perspective, the trade makes sense. The Bears’ rookie quarterback, Caleb Williams, was sacked a league-high 68 times during the 2024 season. Having entered the offseason with $79 million in cap space, the Bears are willing to spend big to protect their quarterback of the future.

The move also allows the Chiefs to gain significant cap flexibility, taking Thuney’s $16 million cap hit off the books. They’re also free to pursue their offensive line of the future, which will likely mean taking a look at the players available in the Draft, including Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr. If they’d rather go the free agency route, Cam Robinson and Ronnie Stanley are both available.

Kansas City has been a perennial contender (and winner) for the last several seasons, in large part due to the Herculean efforts of their front office. It’s hard not to trust their process.

Even so, the Thuney trade requires the Chiefs to have a solid plan for the left side of their offensive line this offseason, which has been an issue in years past as well. At least, if they want to continue maximizing Mahomes’ prime.