The Joe Thuney trade was a necessary move for the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a major victory for the Chicago Bears. On Thursday night, the transaction undoubtedly felt a bit sweeter for Bears general manager Ryan Poles, as Thuney accepted the Protector of the Year Award at the annual NFL Honors program.
Thuney beat out his former teammate—Chiefs center Creed Humphrey—along with four others for the league's first-ever end-of-year award to lift up a single offensive lineman over his peers in the trenches. Other candidates were Miami Dolphins center Aaron Brewer, Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell, and Denver Broncos linemen Quinn Meinerz and Garrett Bolles.
The award was a reminder of a pivotal trade for two franchises nearly one year ago, as both teams pursued specific goals up front.
For the Chiefs, the unexpected escalation of the league's salary cap going into a new year altered the offseason playbook for general manager Brett Veach. Trey Smith, the team's Pro Bowl right guard, was slated to hit free agency, and the team had already applied the franchise tag on him. Anything was possible at that point, but the Chiefs had just tagged-and-traded cornerback L'Jarius Sneed the previous season, and the goal felt like getting something for a bright young lineman ready to get paid was the early plan.
When the cap changed, however, Veach shifted his priorities to retaining Smith and Humphrey as part of a young, dynamic interior core. To do so, however, the team needed to clear Thuney from the books, despite the fact that he was still recognized as one of the game's truly elite pass blockers. It was the chance for the Chiefs to establish the future of the offensive line, with Smith and Humphrey as pillars for younger investments like Kingsley Suamataia and Josh Simmons.
Joe Thuney’s latest honor underscored a rare trade that delivered what the Chiefs and Bears both needed, even if the cost sparks a bit of debate.
That single turn toward the future intersected beautifully with the Bears offseason hopes for immediate help in front of Caleb Williams. If Ben Johnson had any hopes of implementing his changes on offense, he needed better protection up front, so Poles went to work remaking the unit. Drew Dalman was signed as a new starting center. Jonah Jackson was installed at right guard. And the masterstroke, the one still being celebrated during Super Bowl week, was the Thuney deal.
One year after the Bears' offensive line led the NFL in sacks allowed, the team's front five kept Caleb Williams upright long enough to work his magic. In response, the Bears jumped from 5 to 11 wins and became a real postseason threat with Williams' heroics under center. A big part of that was Thuney and company giving him time to operate.
The cost for such an upgrade was a 2026 fourth-round pick—that's right, a day three pick one year into the future. On the one hand, it was a surprisingly weak return for a player who had been named to his second consecutive first-team All-Pro roster. But if the Chiefs could have gotten more from another team, surely they would have went with that deal. Right?
Interestingly, the Chiefs don't even have that pick in this year's draft. They used it as leverage to move up in the 2025 draft's third round to take cornerback Nohl Williams, who turned in a fine rookie performance and should be a starter for years to come in the secondary. That said, it hurts to lose what little return they got in the first place as part of a package deal just to move around the draft order.
Back to Thuney, who is the one being heralded here. It might be too late for him to make a strong Hall of Fame case as he's well into his thirties and didn't start racking up the accolades until he was already well into veteran status. That said, he holds four championship rings and just made his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl. And perhaps receiving the first Protector of the Year Award will elevate his case. The NFL is now lifting one man up above the others, and the Bears were able to acquire that player for a song.