You figured the Chicago Bears would have to get creative in rebuilding their offensive line after Trey Smith left the free agent market before he could even really get on it. But what I wasn’t necessarily expecting was a pursuit of one of Smith’s linemates.
Shortly after The Athletic’s Dianna Russini was reporting that the Bears were among the teams inquiring about a possible trade for Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Joe Thuney, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport shares word that it is happening:
Sources: The #Bears are expected to trade for #Chiefs All-Pro G Joe Thuney, as the Chicago continues to load up on the offensive line. KC gets a bit younger, plus frees up some money to use elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/P0GdAd0WtW
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2025Compensation update; Bears are trading a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Chiefs for Pro-Bowl OL Joe Thuney, per source. t.co/QAcfND57By
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 5, 2025If you did a double take after seeing that news, just know that you are not alone. Joe Thuney is a solid ball player and has been for quite some time. A third-round pick (78th overall) by the New England Patriots in 2016, Thuney has three Pro Bowls (2022-24) to his name and is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he earned first-team All-Pro recognition. A left guard by trade, it’ll be interesting to see where Thuney lines up in the trenches. After all, Chicago just swung a trade for Jonah Jackson — who is also predominantly a left guard.
The Bears are reportedly trading for Joe Thuney
In theory, Joe Thuney’s arrival will bring some stability to the offensive line. Thuney has missed just two regular-season games in his entire career — both of which came in 2022 while with the Chiefs. Or we could look at it like this: Since the NFL went to a 17-game schedule in 2021, Thuney has played in 66 of a 68 possible games. After watching the Bears go through a bevy of offensive line rotations the last few years, it feels reassuring knowing that Thuney is a plug-and-play candidate who you can set and forget.
The only question for me is where he will play along the offensive line. As I mentioned earlier, Thuney has a ton of experience at left guard. But he did play 218 snaps at left tackle last year. Could the Bears try and repeat what the Chiefs did with Thuney? Or would they slide Jonah Jackson over to right guard? Jackson has center experience. Is that a position Chicago envisions Thuney playing in 2025?
Also, I am curious to know what Joe Thuney’s contract situation will be like moving forward. This is the final year of Thuney’s deal and it comes with a cap number of $26,971,713 (h/t OTC) that takes up 9.6 percent of the cap. Would it make sense to explore a bridge deal to bring that cap number down? Is this a one-year “prove it” situation? I have so many questions and not enough time to answer them all right now in this post.
In the end, I think the most important thing is that the Bears are aggressively making moves to improve the offensive line. However, they are also doing so in a way in which the front office is leveraging its cap space while simultaneously not tying up money long-term — which is what would be happening if the team were to make major investments in free agency. There is some fascinating stuff happening at Halas Hall. And while we do not know what the next step is, it is obvious that a primary goal is to upgrade in the trenches ASAP.
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