It appears that the Kansas City Chiefs will be trading left guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears once the new league year kicks off in a few weeks. The compensation is expected to be a fourth-round pick.
This might seem a bit surprising to casual fans and like the Chiefs "got fleeced", as the kids say, but, as we've come to learn, Brett Veach wouldn't make a move like this if he didn't have something up his sleeve. Thuney is coming off yet another impressive year, one where he moved to left tackle for the back half of the season and still played quite well.
Something else to keep in mind here is that he's 32 years old (turns 33 in November) and his value is never going to be higher in the next few years than it is right now. He was named the team MVP for his efforts this season and other teams noticed how solid he was at both positions he played during the 2024 season. The Chiefs are electing to trade him while his value is sky-high rather than try to work out a long-term deal with him.
Joe Thuney traded to Bears
With Thuney now expected to land in the Windy City for the 2025 season, what will the Chiefs do at left guard? Ian Rapoport noted that 2024 second-rounder Kingsley Suamataia will get a chance at replacing Thuney at left guard. Suamataia didn't look great when thrown out at left tackle so kicking him inside to guard isn't a bad call here if that's what the Chiefs elect to do.
Chiefs fans are going to be stunned by this trade and even more stunned by the lack of compensation received. That being said, with Trey Smith needing to be paid and the team needing to find a solution at the left tackle spot, it's not shocking to see Veach and the front office free up some cap space to make sure those to-dos get checked off.
Thuney was a wonderful player for K.C. during his four years with the Chiefs but Super Bowl contenders have to make tough decisions like these all the time. We'll see how this one pans out.