The Kansas City Chiefs offensive line struggled mightily in their Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and despite that, they just traded away one of the best guards in the league.
In what comes as a surprise, the Chiefs are trading one of their starting offensive linemen, and a player that had has had a lot of success in his career, to the Chicago Bears.
Chiefs Trade All-Pro Joe Thuney to Bears
In a trade that was announced the morning of Wednesday, March 5th, the Chiefs are trading Joe Thuney to the Bears. Ian Rappoport was the first to report the trade.
Sources: The #Bears are expected to trade for #Chiefs All-Pro G Joe Thuney, as the Chicago continues to load up on the offensive line.
KC gets a bit younger, plus frees up some money to use elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/P0GdAd0WtW
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2025
The last time the Chiefs lost a Super Bowl was the 2020 season, when they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in similar fashion to this most recent loss to the Eagles. After that, they replaced all five starters on the offensive line.
So, while they will not be replacing all five starters this year (they franchise tagged guard Trey Smith), maybe it should not be a total shock to see them move off of Thuney.
Thuney has had a lot of success as a member of the Chiefs, though. He signed with the team after that disastrous Super Bowl loss to the Bucs, and rewarded the Chiefs with first-team All-Pro performances in 2023 and 2024, and was a second-team All-Pro in 2022. He also made the Pro Bowl from years 2022-2024.
That said, Thuney was put in a disadvantageous position during the 2024 season, as the Chiefs ended up moving him from left guard (where he racked up all those accolades mentioned previously) to left tackle.
The Chiefs desperately needed to solve an issue at left tackle, as they had gone through multiple options before moving Thuney to LT, with his first game at tackle coming in Week 15.
Despite struggling in the Super Bowl itself, Thuney had mostly played well at LT, not allowing a single pressure in the Chiefs’ victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship.
That type of positional versatility is valuable to have at offensive line, when players are occasionally needed to shuffle around, but, in general, Thuney is regarded as one of the best guards in the entire NFL. So, either way, this is a big hole that the Chiefs will need to replace.
As far as the Bears go, this is the second straight day they are making a trade to the OL in an attempt to solve what was a brutal offensive line last year.
Yesterday, Tuesday March 4th, the Bears traded a late pick in the 2025 NFL Draft for Jonah Jackson from the Los Angeles Rams.
Trade: Rams are in the process of sending veteran offensive lineman Jonah Jackson to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick, per ESPN’s @CourtneyRCronin. The trade cannot be processed until March 12. pic.twitter.com/lj3M8VW5V8
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2025
With free agency starting next week, look for the Chiefs to be active in the offensive line market as they attempt to do a better job protecting Patrick Mahomes next season.