Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles likely made the trade of the year in the National Football League when he sent a future fourth-round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft to the Kansas City Chiefs for offensive lineman Joe Thuney. Fans are feeling the love for Thuney as well, given the latest Pro Bowl voting results.
Voting is well underway for the NFL's annual all-star exhibition, which happens the weekend between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. While full results weren't yet released by the league, a few snippets were revealed, and Thuney will be representing the Bears if the current results stand. He is currently the leader in votes at the left guard position.
Hopes were high for Chicago when the Thuney deal was announced. It was part of a major overhaul of the entire offensive front in front of second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, with center Drew Dalman and right guard Jonah Jackson also joining Thuney as first-year Chicago residents. The hope was that the influx of veterans would help stabilize a line that had been problematic for years.
The results in Chicago have been extraordinary in head coach Ben Johnson's first season on the sidelines. The Bears are the top seed in the NFC coming out of Week 13, and the offense ranks No. 8 overall in points scored. Thuney's reputation as one of the NFL's elite pass blockers has aided Williams' development and helped cement what Johnson wants his offense to become on the field.
Joe Thuney's Pro Bowl status properly reflects the incredible on-field impact he's making for the Bears.
It's rare for any team to find such a return on a mid-round pick, especially one traded more than one year ahead of time, but the Chiefs were planning to move on from Thuney all along. Kingsley Suamataia looked ready to slide inside in a late-season tryout in 2024, and the results have been very solid for K.C. in a year where other positions up front have struggled with injuries and penalties.
Instead of giving Thuney a long-term extension in his early thirties, the Chiefs went with Suamataia on the left side and instead retained Trey Smith on the right side with a lucrative new deal. However, the Bears had no problems committing to Thuney long term and signed him to a two-year contract extension not long after acquiring him.
While Suamataia isn't part of the problem, the Chiefs certainly aren't enjoying life after Thuney in general. The team is 6-6 overall and on the verge of falling out of the postseason for the first time since 2015. Meanwhile, Thuney is once again chasing a ring with a new team and earning plenty of appreciative votes while doing so.