Chiefs agree to 5-year deal with offensive guard Joe Thuney

One of NFL free agency’s most coveted pieces is heading to the Kansas City Chiefs, and it comes at their greatest position of need — the offensive line. Offensive guard Joe Thuney has agreed to terms on a five-year deal with Kansas City, according to his agent, Mike McCartney.

Reports confirmed Thuney’s deal is worth a total of $80 million, with $32.5 million guaranteed in the first two seasons. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer laid out all the details, noting that the Chiefs are all but locked into three years at a guaranteed $48 million.

ESPN’s Field Yates reports the 2021 cap hit of the deal is around $4.5 million.

Thuney, 28, first entered the league as a third-round pick made by the New England Patriots in the 2016 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-5, 308-pound offensive lineman primarily played left guard as a member of the Patriots, though he started two games at center due to injury in 2020 while playing left tackle at practice. He also played some tackle during his tenure at NC State.

The Patriots like Thuney so much that they franchise tagged him to keep him in 2020, and as Breer also noted, were bidding for him until he and his agent decided upon Kansas City. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was thrilled to read the news of his newfound protection.

Thuney has started every regular-season game as a pro (80) and is a two-time Super Bowl champion (LI, LIII). A second-team All-Pro in 2019, Thuney has only allowed three sacks on 1,733 pass-block snaps since 2018.

Pro Football Focus grades Thuney as one of the best guards in the NFL.

Our SB Nation sister site, Pats Pulpit, outlined Thuney’s 2020 season in a lengthy free agency preview.

Thuney’s 2020 season was therefore par the course for him. He started all 16 of the Patriots’ games, and once again led the team in playing time. Not only was he on the field for 979 of a possible 1,011 snaps on the offensive side of the ball (96.8%), he also played an additional 62 special teams snaps (of 397; 15.6%) as a field goal and extra point protector. He did miss a few snaps after hurting his ankle versus the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7, but was again as reliable and durable a player as any in the NFL.

Along the way, Thuney also was highly productive again. As a pass protector, he gave up just 12.5 quarterback disruptions all year long despite being asked to pass-block 511 times: he surrendered only half a sack and also allowed two hits as well as 10 hurries. In the running game, meanwhile, the Patriots were able to gain 856 yards last year when attacking behind the left side of the line for an average of 5.2 yards per carry. In both the running and the passing game, Thuney was impressive.