For those wondering if the Kansas City Chiefs would eventually make a shift at left tackle (after making so many earlier this season), the tea leaves are pretty clear at this stage: the job for the duration of the 2024-05 campaign belongs to Joe Thuney.
On Friday, the Chiefs held their final practice before hosting the Buffalo Bills on Sunday evening in the AFC Championship game. Head coach Andy Reid spoke with reporters to answer questions as well, and he confirmed that it would once again be Thuney, an All-Pro guard, serving as the left bookend for in the penultimate round of the NFL playoffs.
The Chiefs have leaned on Thuney as the blindside protector for quarterback Patrick Mahomes since Week 15, the team's win over the Cleveland Browns. That game introduced the idea of switching Thuney away from his regular role at left guard to help mitigate the loss of D.J. Humphries to a minor injury and the frustrations of going with younger players down the stretch.
While Wanya Morris and Kingsley Suamataia might compete for starter's reps at tackle once again in 2025, it's clear the Chiefs are staying with Thuney on the left side with even Humphries waiting in the wings for any playing time. Even as Humphries came back, it was Thuney who held onto the role for the final two games of the season (before starters sat in Week 18) and again in the divisional round win over the Houston Texans.
This is hardly the first time Thuney has slid over to his left or right for the sake of helping the Chiefs. He played the majority of snaps in a Week 17 game for the Chiefs at left tackle back in 2021, and he even slid over to center for two games in 2020 as well.
The Chiefs and Bills are scheduled to kick off at 5:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, January 26.