After a stinging Super Bowl defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles last month, the Kansas City Chiefs are making moves ahead of what should be a busy free agency period.
Kansas City is moving All-Pro offensive lineman Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears, according to multiple reports.
According to ESPN, the Chiefs will be getting a return of a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Reports indicate that Thuney could be in line for a contract extension with the Bears, but it’s unclear what the term or salary would be.
Currently, Thuney is in the final year of a five-year, $80million contract that he signed in Kansas City in 2021.
He is set to earn a base salary of $15.5million, which balloons up to a cap hit of $26.9million after bonuses and contract re-structuring.
As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport explains, Kansas City has ‘the highest paid guard [Trey Smith] and center [Creed Humphrey] and they can’t pay everyone. They turn their attention to free agency.’
Not only will the Chiefs be looking to improve their offensive line in free agency, but they’ll also be required to attempt to make deals with the slew of their own players set to hit the market.
Thuney is a four-time Super Bowl champion – having won two titles with the New England Patriots and two in Kansas City.
He’s been named to the All-Pro team four times (two-time First-team, two-time Second-team) and is a three-time Pro-Bowler.
Last season, Thuney ranked first in the league in pass block win-rate amongst guards, according to ESPN.
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