There is officially a changing of the guard for the Kansas City Chiefs.
After the team pulled off a stunning trade on Wednesday, sending All-Pro guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears for a 2026 fourth-round pick, everyone in Chiefs Kingdom is wondering what's coming next.
Kansas City obviously has a gigantic Thuney-sized hole on the left side of the line, but it sounds like the organization already has a plan. For better or worse, the Chiefs' next move is fairly obvious.
Good call. I believe Kingsley Suamataia, a former 2nd rounder, will be given a shot to become a guard, stepping in for the former All-Pro. https://t.co/8aN1c2H8AP
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2025
Chiefs Will Give Kingsley Suamataia a Chance to Replace Joe Thuney
Theorized by Nate Tice and backed up by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and Pete Sweeney at Arrowhead Pride, the Chiefs are keen to give second-year left tackle Kingsley Suamataia an opportunity to slide over and take over as the starting left guard.
As Sweeney points out, Kansas City liked Suamataia's work at guard in Week 18. General manager Brett Veach has praised his upside, and it'd make more sense for the Chiefs to invest in an outside option at left tackle than to start any of the current guys on the roster.
Suamataia did not play any guard in college at BYU but still displayed excellent versatility by playing both left and right tackle. He ranked 137th out of 141 qualified tackles at Pro Football Focus as a rookie, quickly making it obvious that his skillset wasn't a good fit against the elite pass rushers in the NFL.
Should Suamataia fall short, the Chiefs still have Mike Caliendo and fellow second-year player C.J. Hanson, though it's hard to feel confident in the position's depth if Suamataia doesn't prove capable of handling the spot.
It also feels likely that a Trey Smith extension will come at some point and perhaps one for Justin Reid or Nick Bolton as well. Trading Thuney frees up $16 million in cap space to add to the roughly $7 million in projected space they already had. That's before factoring in any potential contract restructures, so suddenly the Chiefs could be very active in free agency.
This all only works if Suamataia can make the switch. If not, Kansas City will be back to the drawing board by the end of the summer.