CHICAGO -- The Bears are trading a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for two-time All-Pro guard Joe Thuney, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
It's the second trade the Bears have agreed to in the past 24 hours to beef up their offensive line to provide better protection for quarterback Caleb Williams. On Tuesday, the Bears agreed to a trade with the Los Angeles Rams to acquire guard Jonah Jackson.
Both trades cannot be processed until the start of the NFL's new league year on March 12.
Thuney was selected as the Chiefs' MVP last season by his teammates, receiving the Derrick Thomas Award in recognition of his unselfishness by moving to left tackle at the end of the season.
Over nine NFL seasons with the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, Thuney has missed just two games, starting 146 games. He played 895 snaps at left guard in 2024 before moving to left tackle (217 snaps), where he replaced Wanya Morris beginning in Week 15 and protected Patrick Mahomes' blind side throughout Kansas City's run to Super Bowl LIX.
Thuney has the highest pass block win rate (97.8%) in the NFL over the past two seasons.
According to ESPN Research, 94 players had at least 60 pass-block plays with a win or loss at guard last season. Jackson (98.5%) and Thuney (98.2%) had the two highest pass block win rates at guard of that group. Thuney, 32, is coming off back-to-back seasons as a first-team All-Pro selection. He also was selected to his third straight Pro Bowl in 2024.
The Bears have overhauled two-thirds of the interior of their offensive line with less than a week until the start of free agency. All three of Chicago's primary starters from 2024 -- left guard Teven Jenkins, center Coleman Shelton and right guard Matt Pryor -- are set to become free agents.
One season after Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times as a rookie, the Bears' prioritization of pass protection is defining the early days of new head coach Ben Johnson's tenure.
During his introductory news conference in January, Johnson addressed the importance of building an offensive line the way he witnessed over three seasons as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator (2022-24).
"I think offensive line is certainly an area that we need to get better play from going forward, something that [general manager] Ryan [Poles] and I have already talked about," Johnson said on Jan. 20. "We will develop a plan of attack for how to get that done, but I'm looking forward to getting an excellent offensive line coach in the building to help develop the young talent that we already have on the roster, and we will certainly talk about acquiring talent to bolster that unit as well. But I was certainly blessed the last few years with the men that I worked with. And that was something I would love to replicate here as well."
Thuney is due $16 million this season, the last of a five-year, $80 million contract he signed with the Chiefs as a free agent in 2021.
The Chiefs placed the nonexclusive franchise tag on guard Trey Smith on Tuesday. The 2025 franchise tender for guards is worth about $23.4 million. The highest-paid guard in the NFL is the Philadelphia Eagles' Landon Dickerson at $21 million per year, so the tag essentially makes Smith the highest-paid guard in football.
The 2016 third-round pick won two Super Bowls with the Patriots, the team that drafted him, and two with the Chiefs.