The Kansas City Chiefs are trading their team MVP for the 2024 NFL season to the Chicago Bears.

According to multiple reports, the Chiefs engaged in trade discussions with the Bears surrounding Joe Thuney. The truth is that Thuney has been floated as a possible trade candidate for weeks now, but when Kansas City placed the franchise tag on RG Trey Smith, those talks intensified and became a lot more real. 

Thuney is in the final year of his five-year $80 million contract he signed with the Chiefs in March 2021. He’s been the team’s starter at left guard ever since and one of the most dependable and consistent players in the NFL at the position. 

The Chiefs will save around $16M in cap space for the 2025 NFL season, which gets them closer to being salary cap compliant for the start of the new league year on Wednesday, Feb 12. They’ll incur a dead cap hit of $10.9M in previously paid-out bonuses.

In addition to cap space, Kansas City will receive a 2026 fourth-round draft pick from Chicago for Thuney. However, what they’re losing feels much more significant. 

Yes, Thuney is now 32 years old, but he is a two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time All-Pro during his time with Kansas City. He was named team MVP after his selfless shift to the left tackle position in 2024. Now, the Chiefs will be looking for solutions at two spots on the left side of the offensive line for the 2025 NFL season, and they won’t have an emergency option in Thuney to rely on. We’ll see how this goes for Kansas City, but it’s a bold move from the jump, and the return on it might not be fully felt until the 2026 NFL draft.