BREAKING; The Bears are extending offseason acquisition Joe Thuney on a 2-year deal worth $17.5M per year. The Bears lock up a cornerstone on their offensive line.
TheChicago Bears and two-time All-Pro guard Joe Thuney have agreed to a two-year contract extension, agent Mike McCartney announced Tuesday.
The extension is for $17.5 million per season, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, making his new three-year contract worth $51 million with $33.5 million fully guaranteed at signing.
Thuney was traded to the Bears by the Kansas City Chiefs in March in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick. He was entering the final season of a five-year, $80 million contract he signed with the Chiefs as a free agent in 2021.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles had said that an extension for Thuney was a priority this offseason. The new deal provides continuity along the team’s interior offensive line, with Thuney, center Drew Dalman and guard Jonah Jackson all under contract through the 2027 season.
While Thuney was in Kansas City, the Chiefs had their interior line core — Thuney, center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith — intact for 85% of offensive plays over the last four seasons, including on 159 of their 190 offensive touchdowns since 2021.
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 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 and 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.