The shift is only a few steps to his left, but the decision to move Joe Thuney from his role as the starting left guard for the Kansas City Chiefs out to left tackle is a much bigger move than most football fans would likely realize.
As the Chiefs sought answers as to who would protect Patick Mahomes' blindside, they'd turned to multiple other players throughout the course of the 2024 season. Second-round rookie Kingsley Suamataia manned the role from Week 1 after starring there in training camp as well. However by Week 3, he'd been replaced by second-year tackle Wanya Morris after being overwhelmed against the Ravens and Bengals.
Unfortunately, Morris was not going to be the long-term answer either and the Chiefs ended up signing D.J. Humphries, formerly of the Arizona Cardinals, as a veteran free agent late in the season. Humphries was slowly making his way back from a season-ending ACL injury in '23 and was healthy in time to join a contender down the stretch.
Humphries failed to take over the role as expected, however, as he dealt with a hamstring injury shortly after returning to the field. And it's here when the Chiefs decided to shift Thuney over on a permanent basis. Even after Humphries was healthy and practicing, the Chiefs have kept with Thuney on the left side with Mike Caliendo stepping into a starting interior role.
Will Shields has a lot of insight into Joe Thuney's move outside for the Chiefs this season.
It's hard to quantify just how difficult that transition would be for a normal lineman, but the good news is that Will Shields recently sat down to tell Arrowhead Addict about the issues with making such a move. Shields would know first-hand, obviously, as the greatest lineman in the history of the Chiefs—and arguably among the best guards to ever play the game.
A 12-time Pro Bowler and former Walter Payton Man of the Year, Shields played for the Chiefs for 14 seasons and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. During Super Bowl media week, our own Patrick Allen and Sterling Holmes sat down to interview him and numerous others and asked him about Thuney's transition.
"It’s pretty difficult because you have an open end, for one. Sometimes you have a tight end, sometimes you don’t. But your pass sets are different. We call it, as a guard, playing in a phone booth. We have side boards all the time and we enjoy those side boards because we can use them whenever we want to. Once you get to an edge, you now have the smaller, faster athlete outside of you. We’re used to going against 300, 350-pounders. Outside, they’re about 260 and they’re blazing fast. So it’s a big difference for us just as far as the speed comparison, not only the size and athleticism. That’s not saying the big guys aren’t athletic, but they’re closer to us."
Shields, who spoke with FanSided on behalf of the NFL Alumni Association, was quick to give credit to the entire interior, which includes Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith, for the job they've done during the team's postseason run.
"I think their three guys have done a great job as far as navigating the spaces they’re in. Being able to move Thuney outside has been beneficial. it’s given him an opportunity to go out there and flex a little bit. It’s always hard, but he’s doing a great job. You’ll see him do a lot of different things that you won’t normally see a tackle do because he’s not an official tackle. But for the team to be able to go and see what these three guys can accomplish, it’s a great thing. It’s a great run for those guys for sure."
Shields also discussed his favorite line combination in his storied career as well as blocking for the great Priest Holmes and Marcus Allen. Check out the full interview below,