The Chicago Bears knew last offseason that they had to upgrade the offensive line going into 2025. It was vital to the success of Ben Johnson’s new offense. What followed was arguably one of the best single-season turnarounds of any position group in franchise history. After allowing 68 sacks in 2024, three major moves helped the unit allow just 24 last year. It started with trading for veteran guard Jonah Jackson from Los Angeles. Another was signing free agent center Drew Dalman. However, the lynchpin of the entire overhaul was unquestionably the trade for guard Joe Thuney.
Despite being 33 years old, many still considered the perennial Pro Bowler the best in football. He’d already won four Super Bowls between stints with the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. Barring something unexpected, he is destined for a gold jacket in Canton upon retiring. Last season did nothing to change that. He made another Pro Bowl and became the inaugural winner of the Offensive Lineman of the Year award. ESPN ranked him the 5th-best guard in all of football. One coach sounded more than a little hopeful that his retirement comes sooner than later.
5. Joe Thuney, G, Chicago Bears
Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: Unranked
Age: 33 | Last year’s ranking: 6Not many NFL players have aged better than Thuney, who led all guards in pass block win rate last season, his 10th in the league. One team executive said Thuney got the highest grade possible for a veteran guard last season.
Thuney also ranked third among guards in run block win rate (77%) while spearheading the Bears’ revamped interior offensive line.
“He’s losing a little lateral quickness, but he’s so technically sound and tough and sturdy and stronger than you’d think that it doesn’t really matter,” an NFC exec said. “He was awesome last year.”
Added a veteran NFL defensive coach: “He kicked our ass last year.”
Thuney was a marvel last season.
Think about this. The man was left one-on-one in pass-blocking situations 322 times over the course of the season. He allowed just 17 pressures and zero sacks. His 97.4 pass blocking efficiency was the highest of any guard who logged over 300 such snaps. Not only that, but he’s also the only guard to not allow a sack with such a workload. Evan Brown is the only other name to accomplish allowing no sacks, but he only had 244. The point is that Thuney was operating on a different level from everybody else.
Nobody knows how much longer he plans to play. Perhaps he’s hoping to secure one more ring before calling it a career. He’d become the only the second player in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with three different franchises, joining linebacker Matt Millen. If that title came with the Bears, it would cement one of the all-time great legacies for any player in league history. Chicago certainly won’t look to stop him. They understand his value to the team better than anybody.
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Thuney’s presence is even more valuable now.
That became clear after Dalman abruptly retired at age 27. It left a huge hole in the middle of their offensive line. Under normal circumstances, it could’ve been disastrous. However, the Bears knew they still had Joe Thuney in place. His steady presence would help them weather any potential storm. As a result, they didn’t mind being aggressive in their efforts to fill that center spot. First, they traded for veteran Garrett Bradbury from New England, and then spent a 2nd round pick on Iowa’s Logan Jones.
Couple this with the ongoing uncertainty at left tackle, and the value of Thuney only grows. Having him sandwiched between those two uncertain spots is incredibly important. It improves the likelihood that there won’t be much of a drop-off in play quality from the offensive line. We already saw what his influence started doing for Ozzy Trapilo last season before he got hurt. The same could prove true for Jones. The more you hear, the easier it is to understand why opposing coaches are hoping he hangs it up soon.
