Four-time Super Bowl winner Joe Thuney is on his way out from Kansas City all the way to Chicago. The All Pro guard has reportedly been traded to the Bears for a 2026 fourth-round pick.
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Since joining the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent in 2021, Thuney primarily played left guard. However, due to the team’s struggles at left tackle last season, Thuney transitioned to the outside position—winning the Derrick Thomas Award after making the switch—where he remained through Super Bowl LIX. The 32-year-old is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he was named a first-team All-Pro.
He’s earned four All-Pro honors and three consecutive Pro Bowl selections and was voted team MVP by his teammates last season. He has been one of the most reliable and productive linemen in the NFL. Why then, have the Chiefs decided to part ways with the veteran guard? Daniel Jeremiah believes it might have something to do with his age.
It seems the Chiefs are trying to add younger, more long-term potential offensive talent to their roster this time around. And that means, out with the old, and in with the young.
“We have Joe Thuney, who is 32 years old, he’s got a year left at $15.5 million. They decide if we’re going to keep him, we’re going to have to extend him; we’re not going to let him go into the last year of his deal…We can go find a younger guard, maybe he’s a little bit lesser player right now than Joe Thuney, but we think the contract would age better,” Jeremiah explained the Chiefs’ mindset on the Rich Eisen podcast.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to trade Joe Thuney comes on the heels of their move to franchise tag right guard Trey Smith, securing him for the 2025 season with a projected salary of $23.4 million, making him the highest-paid guard in the league.
With both Smith and center Creed Humphrey poised for substantial extensions, the Chiefs faced a strategic choice: maintain their younger core or continue investing heavily in a trio of elite interior linemen. So who will be Thuney’s replacement?
“I’ll give you some names: Aaron Banks is 27 years old, Will Fries from the Colts, 27, Becken, who they just played in the Super Bowl, is 26. So that could be an option, just a one-for-one swap,” Jeremiah named some swap options for Thuney.
However, the player who will be given the first opportunity to replace Thuney at left guard is Kingsley Suamataia, the 2024 second-round pick. Whether they decide to replace Thuney internally or look to the draft or free agency, there’s going to be some growing pains for the young replacement stepping into the shoes of a veteran talent.
