Joe Thuney signing makes K.C. Chiefs offseason a lot easier

The K.C. Chiefs made a big splash in the opening period of free agency on Monday afternoon when they signed former New England Patriots guard Joe Thuney to a contract measuring 5 years and up to $80 million.

Thuney played with New England for his entire career since being drafted in the third round back in 2016, and he had been playing on the franchise tag for the Patriots in 2020 after playing out his rookie deal. Now with Thuney finally hitting the open market, he gets the big deal he was always going to get and and he does so in Kansas City where he will now be responsible for protecting Patrick Mahomes.

This is an absolutely massive get for Kansas City because\, as we’ve established for really the past two years, the Chiefs badly needed help on the offensive line. First of all, 5 years and $80 million ($16 million per year) for Thuney is a great deal. Thuney was an All-Pro as recently as 2019, has started every single game in his NFL career, and is still just 28 years old. On top of that, Thuney has Super Bowl winning experience and will prove to be a veteran anchor along the offensive line.

There were talks earlier on Monday that the Chiefs were after offensive tackle Trent Williams for at least $20 million per year, so clearly Chiefs general manager Brett Veach was intent on bringing in a high-end veteran to help anchor the line.

Joe Thuney’s signing should make everything easier for the K.C. Chiefs.

Many are still worried about the tackle spot as Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz are both gone, which creates massive holes on both ends of the Chiefs offensive line. That much is understandable. However, Thuney is extremely versatile. He can play center or guard and believe it or not, even some tackle as he has lined up there before and could play in an emergency situation. Acknowledging that, the addition of Thuney gives the Chiefs flexibility to attack the rest of the offseason however they want.

With Thuney now on board, we should expect the Chiefs to sign at least one more veteran lineman and then draft a tackle along with someone on the interior. The Chiefs will return Laurent Duvernay-Tardif at another guard spot, and Lucas Niang should be counted on outside at one tackle slot. Slowly but surely the line is coming together with impact performers, and Joe Thuney’s signing gives the Chiefs an anchor for their efforts to rebuild in front of Mahomes. It should be easier from this point forward having landed such a big fish so early.