The Kansas City Chiefs have traded away one of their veterans, Joe Thuney, to the Chicago Bears for a 2026 4th-rounder, and it will be interesting to see what the plan will be for them on the offensive line. It's obvious that they will be getting younger, and that means that someone already on the team will fill Thuney's void. One of those players in contention to take the spot is Kingsley Suamataia, according to reporter Nate Tice.

“Kingsley Suamataia will now be given a shot to start at LG for the Chiefs. LT remains the question mark, but I doubt Andy Reid and company leave that unaddressed. Chiefs just had so much tied to their OL after tagging Trey Smith, something had to give,” Tice wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Suamataia was drafted last year with the 63rd pick, and it seems like he has the upside that the Chiefs could need to replace Thuney. He was benched earlier last season after struggling in Week 2, and though there were questions as to why head coach Andy Reid made the move so quickly, it seemed to work out in the Chiefs' favor at the time.

Chiefs trade Joe Thuney to Bears

Kansas City Chiefs guard Joe Thuney (62) blocks for quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The Chiefs traded away a true veteran for the team, as he was a first-team All-Pro for the second straight year and was selected to his third straight Pro Bowl. Thuney was selected as the Chiefs' MVP last season by his teammates as well, receiving the Derrick Thomas Award for his willingness to move to left tackle at the end of the season.

One of the reasons why the Chiefs made the move was to free up cap space, and Thuney is due $16 million this season, which is the last year of the five-year deal he signed in 2021.

The Chiefs are putting most of their money on other parts of the offensive line, as they recently franchise tagged guard Trey Smith, which was worth $23.4 million. That makes Smith the highest-paid guard in the NFL right now, and the hope is that the Chiefs can work out a long-term deal with him at some point.

For the Bears, they're continuing to make moves on their offensive line, which is a big part of why they struggled last season. Getting Caleb Williams a clean pocket seems to be new head coach Ben Johnson's plan, and so far, they're doing a good job at surrounding him with the necessary things to be successful.