Chiefs trading All-Pro offensive
guard Joe Thuney to Bears for 2026 4th-round pick, AP source says
[March 06, 2025]
By DAVE SKRETTA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are trading two-time
All-Pro guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round
pick in the 2026 draft, a person familiar with the deal told The
Associated Press on Wednesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade had not
been finalized.
The 32-year-old Thuney would have carried a salary cap number of
nearly $27 million next season, unless the Chiefs could have worked
out a contract extension. That extension is now expected to come
from the Bears, who have been working to retool their offensive line
to better protect young quarterback Caleb Williams next season.
On Tuesday, the Bears agreed to send a 2025 sixth-round pick to the
Los Angeles Rams for Jonah Jackson, a former Pro Bowl offensive
guard. Jackson was drafted by the Detroit Lions, where he had played
for new Chicago coach Ben Johnson.
Williams was sacked an NFL-high 68 times last season. The Texans'
C.J. Stroud was next with 63 sacks.
Kansas City would have liked to keep the dependable Thuney, who has
started all 146 games in his nine NFL seasons. He is a four-time
Super Bowl champion, winning two with the Patriots and two with the
Chiefs, and has proven to be the consummate team player, even
sliding out to left tackle late last season as Kansas City struggled
to protect Patrick Mahomes’ blind side.
The trade to Chicago ultimately came down to finances.
By trading Thuney, the Chiefs freed up $16 million in much-needed
salary cap space to address other needs. They are still in search of
a solution at left tackle — a season-long problem that doomed them
in their Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia — along with help at wide
receiver, along the defensive line and in the defensive backfield.
[to top of second column] |
Kansas City Chiefs guard Joe Thuney (62) gets set on the line
before the play during the AFC Championship NFL football game
against the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.
(AP Photo/Peter Aiken, File)
The Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Pro Bowl
offensive guard Trey Smith on Tuesday, which equates to a one-year
deal worth about $23.4 million for next season — unless the sides
work out a long-term deal. That effectively makes Smith the
highest-paid guard in the NFL next season. And when his salary is
combined with the four-year, $72 million deal that center Creed
Humphrey signed last fall, the Chiefs have tied up a huge chunk of
their cap space in their offensive line.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have several options to replace Thuney already
on the roster.
Mike Caliendo finished the season at his spot once Thuney moved to
tackle, though he struggled mightily against the Eagles in the Super
Bowl. They also drafted interior lineman Hunter Nourzad in the fifth
round of last year’s draft.
The most intriguing possibility, though, may be Kingsley Suamataia,
whom the Chiefs drafted in the second round last April in the hopes
that he could play left tackle. Suamataia struggled at that position
early in the year and was summarily benched, but the Chiefs began to
try him at guard during practice and he seemed to flourish at the
new spot down the stretch.
The Chiefs are expected to take another swing at addressing the left
tackle position in the April draft.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
