The Kansas City Chiefs are fighting for their playoff lives with a 6-7 record entering Week 15. There are problems on both sides of the ball, but one of the biggest mistakes for the 2025 season was trading away guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round pick.
The Chiefs decided to extend Trey Smith, but didn't want to pour more money into another guard, which is why they moved on from Thuney, but the decision to move on from him was a huge mistake.
Chiefs' Choice to Move On from Joe Thuney Has a Massive Mistake
Kingsley Suamataia stepped into Thuney's spot and has started in 13 games for the team. He's been an average starter for them, logging a 67.8 overall grade, 71.6 pass-blocking grade, and a 63.8 run-blocking grade on PFF. Suamataia has also allowed 23 pressures and eight hits; meanwhile, Thuney has been a stalwart for the Bears.
On Pro Football Focus, Thuney owns a 78.3 overall grade (7th among 80 graded guards), 86 pass-blocking grade (1st among 80 graded guards), and a 71.5 run-blocking grade (17th among 80 graded guards). Thuney hasn't allowed a single sack all season long, and the Chiefs decided to part ways with him for just a fourth-round pick.
At the time, it was a move that wasn't praised by fans due to Thuney's level of play and consistency, but they understood it from a money perspective. Despite that, it doesn't feel good to see a former player continuing to ball out elsewhere when he could have still been doing that in KC.
Instead of extending Thuney, the Chiefs added Jaylon Moore (two years, $30 million) and Kristian Fulton (two years, $20 million) in free agency. Moore has provided them with a versatile offensive linemen, but Fulton has been a complete whiff.
In hindsight, they would have been better off using the money on Thuney to keep him around over Moore and Fulton. Instead, they banked on younger, cheaper options, but it hasn't worked in their favor. Meanwhile, Thuney is an anchor on a 9-4 Bears team and is still one of the best players at his position.
Every season is different compared to the last, and at the time, Kansas City thought it was the right decision to move on from Thuney, but as time has gone on, this move has aged poorly. And the ripple effects negatively impacted the Chiefs' 2025 season and potentially beyond.