One of the biggest, and toughest, decisions the Chiefs made during the offseason was trading All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears.
Thuney played left guard and left tackle for Kansas City in 2024, earning the team’s Derrick Thomas MVP Award. Despite that, the Chiefs felt that they needed not only the salary cap savings that came with trading Thuney (roughly $16 million), but also to stay young along the offensive line
Veteran Mike Caliendo and second year man Kingsley Suamataia will battle it out for the starting LG spot in 2025. NFL.com analyst Nick Shook compiled a list of player departures that will have the biggest impacts on their former teams, and is concerned about how the Chiefs plan to replace Thuney.
From Nick Shook: “The Chiefs’ offensive line was the weak point that ultimately led to their downfall in Super Bowl LIX, but they might not have even reached that point had Thuney not kicked out to left tackle late in the season to protect Patrick Mahomes’ blindside. Thuney’s departure seemed inevitable because of cap constraints, and while Kansas City addressed the left tackle spot by signing Jaylon Moore and drafting Josh Simmons, the O-line remains a big question mark, especially with Mike Caliendo — the 114th-ranked guard out of 136 last season, per Pro Football Focus — competing with Kingsley Suamataia — the 136rd-ranked tackle out of 140 in 2024, per PFF — at left guard. We’ll learn in 2025 just how valuable Thuney was to the Chiefs’ offense.”
Shook isn’t wrong in his assessment. Caliendo was dominated throughout the postseason, and Suamataia was totally outmatched at left tackle in 2024. A potential silver lining with the latter is that he played pretty well at LG in Week 18 and may be better off at that position than he was at LT.
The Chiefs didn’t select a guard during the draft, so that could signal that they are confident that either Caliendo or Suamataia will rise to the occasion. While it’s always possible that a dark horse such as Tremayne Anchrum or C.J. Hanson steps up, K.C. could have a glaring weakness at LG that it will have to keep taped together similarly to what it did with the LT position last season.
