The Denver Broncos might be able to make some progress in the AFC West, as the Kansas City Chiefs downfall could be coming. Surely the Kansas City Chiefs would not trade their best offensive lineman a few weeks after getting throttled in the Super Bowl, right?
Somehow, that's wrong:
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.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2025
KC gets a bit younger, plus frees up some money to use elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/P0GdAd0WtW
Yes, you are reading that correctly; one of the best and smartest offensive lineman of this generation has been traded by the Kansas City Chiefs to the Chicago Bears, a team that recently also swung a trade for former Los Angeles Rams guard Jonah Jackson.
The Chiefs signed Thuney a few offseasons ago to a free agency contract, and it was a stellar move at the time. Thuney might just be a future Hall of Famer and is someone who has played both guard and tackle for KC. He does not turn 33 years old until November, so there is still a bit of youth on his side as an lineman in the NFL.
Thuney was apart of a few offseason moves along the OL after the Chiefs got blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in the 2020 Super Bowl. The Chiefs also drafted Trey Smith in that following offseason, who they applied the franchise tag to. Overall, this seems to be a case of KC wanting to get a bit younger and cheaper along the offensive line, but trading Joe Thuney seems a bit much.
Now, all of a sudden, the Chiefs will have huge question marks at left tackle and one of their guard spots. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor has also only been average at best. Could this shocking move by the Chiefs give the Denver Broncos an avenue to make a run in 2025? Perhaps we overrate just how important an iOL player is to an offense, but this move does make the Chiefs worse overall.
They'll save $16 million in cap space with the move but will take on a dead cap charge around $11 million, so this is not a huge money-saving move at all.
On the flip side, the Chicago Bears appear to be loading up along their offensive line in an effort to make life easier for Caleb Williams, one of the rookie QBs from the packed 2024 NFL Draft class.
The Denver Broncos have to be waking up in a great mood, as one of their main rivals just trades away their best player.