Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach apparently had a plan of action in mind regarding the team's offensive line.

Less than a week after the Chiefs released both starting offensive tackles, they have agreed with former New England Patriots offensive lineman Joe Thuney on a five-year, $80 million deal:

This is an enormous deal for one of the top offensive linemen on the market. The news also elicited a reaction from Kansas City's star quarterback:

Thuney played on the franchise tag last season as a member of the New England Patriots. He was primarily the team's left guard for the majority of his career, though he spent time at offensive tackle last season.

The 28-year-old has consistently generated strong Pro Football Focus grades. Thuney has a PFF grade of 73 or higher in each of the past four seasons, including a 74.2 overall grade in 2020. He now becomes the centerpiece of Kansas City's offensive line.

Of course, that also means Thuney will be under plenty of pressure to protect Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs' offensive line was lost without its starting tackles in Kansas City's Super Bowl loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mahomes rarely had a clean pocket, running for his life to avoid pressure from the likes of Shaquil Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh.

It came as a bit of a surprise when the Chiefs cut both Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz. But both players were dealing with injuries, and the cap space created likely played a vital role in the team's ability to sign Thuney.

Thuney was formerly relied upon to protect Tom Brady. Now, he will be the glue for Kansas City's offensive line in protecting Mahomes.