Chiefs Trade Thuney to Bears

In a shocking pre-free agency move, the Kansas City Chiefs are trading four-time Super Bowl champion Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears.

It’s the first move between former assistant GM Ryan Poles, now the General Manager in Chicago, and Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach, but it’s a whopper!

Early Wednesday morning, Dianna Russini indicated the Chiefs were in talks to ship All-Pro and Future Hall of Fame Guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears for a 2026 fourth-round pick.

For the Chiefs, this likely means free agent Guard Trey Smith will sign a long-term contract to remain in Kansas City. The Bears are in the process of revamping their offensive line. On Tuesday, they sent a 2025 sixth-round pick for Los Angeles Rams Guard Jonah Jackson.

When the deal becomes official next week, the Chiefs will gain $16 million in cap space but lose a pillar to their offensive line. Currently, KC has no replacement for Thuney on the roster. There has been talk that Kingsley Suamataia and Wanya Morris could be moved from tackle to guard.

If the roster remains the same, Mike Caliendo and C.J. Hanson will compete to replace Thuney at left guard.

However, this move makes sense for the Chiefs, who are desperate for cap space, and Thuney will be 33 in November.

Still, he was the Chiefs’ best offensive lineman, and only fetching a sixth-round pick seems low for a player of his caliber. However, the Bears are eating the 2025 contract, which means draft compensation is generally thin.

Chiefs fans won’t like this trade, and with no replacement in hand, Veach will be scrutinized for this move until he finds Thuney’s replacement. Further, the team is searching for a left tackle, and now his off-season checklist, with a very weak free agent class along the offensive line, will be challenging.

The priority this off-season has to be protecting Patrick Mahomes. Thus far, that has not been the case for the Chiefs. Retaining Smith will help, but with Jawaan Taylor’s struggles at right tackle, Veach has to pull some rabbits out of the hat to strengthen the front five for Mahomes.

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