Chicago Bears OT Joe Thuney Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Joe Thuney’s extension poses the question—is he a top-4 Chicago Bear heading into 2025?

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Alan Goldsher | Last updated May 20, 2025 10:24 AM ET

On Monday, Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles put his money where his contract-signing pen was, inking newly-acquired All-Pro offensive tackle Joe Thuney to a two-year extension that will earn him $17.5 million per year, with $33.5 million guaranteed at signing.

The deal will likely keep the 32-year-old former Kansas City Chiefs star in a Bears uni for the remainder of his career.

The contract’s length and money are far from a bad thing, as for the last three-ish seasons, the Midway Monsters’ offensive trenches have been, oh, let’s be kind and say Swiss cheesy. Thuney's presence is, if nothing else, comforting.

But should we judge Thuney’s value to the team by his contract? Does his paycheck equate to his importance to the franchise? Do the buckwads make him one of The Guys?

Great questions. Let’s find out.

The Guy #4:

Colston Loveland, TE

#Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland shares early praise for HC Ben Johnson. https://t.co/DLKfYPyxpT
— ChicagoBearsHQ (@dabearshq) May 20, 2025

2025 Cap Hit: $4,842,910

The Skinny: The rookie’s performance will be an ideal barometer to gauge whether new Bears head coach Ben Johnson can evaluate talent, hard stop.

Up until the week-ish before the 2025 NFL Draft, Loveland was believed to be a mid-first-rounder, with Penn State’s Tyler Warren considered to be the draft’s TE1. But Johnson felt the University of Michigan product would be The Guy, so here we are.

The Guy #3:

Joe Thuney, OT

The #Bears now have two guards ranked in the top 10 for annual salary. Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, both earning $17.5M per year.

Poles is building a wall up front. #DaBears pic.twitter.com/wMIzNBwwlr
— Muhammed Ahmed (@MunawarRauf12) May 20, 2025

2025 Cap Hit: $16,000,000

The Skinny: Thuney will not only be a key cog—if not the key cog—to Chicago’s rebuilt O-line, but he’ll be relied upon to be both a locker room leader and a mentor to the team's young linemen.

That’s a ton of responsibility for a new arrival to the team, but dude’s gotta earn his bread.

The Guy #2:

Montez Sweat, EDGE

My biggest X-factor for the #Bears defense this year is Montez Sweat.

He wasn’t bad in 2024, but he took a step back from his previous year. With a better DL around him, curious to see if his sack numbers pick back up. pic.twitter.com/rJXZbjOxXh
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) May 17, 2025

2025 Cap Hit: $25,085,494

The Skinny: Is Sweat the most important 2025 Bear? Nope, not even close. For that matter, based on last year’s 5.5 sack total, he’s sorta-kinda replaceable. (Calling Trey Hendrickson.)

But he’s the highest-paid Bear, and, as such, will be expected to deliver, and deliver big.

The Guy #1:

Caleb Williams, QB

https://t.co/9eLHFMO2Jf #nfl #DaBears

The Chicago Bears are taking important steps to secure the future of their quarterback Caleb Williams, recently extending guard Joe Thuney’s contract for two additional years, worth $35 m...
— NFL Digest (@nflpress_digest) May 20, 2025

2025 Cap Hit: $8,974,104

The Skinny: It’s been said time and again that quarterback isn’t just the most important position in the NFL, but the most important in all of sports, period, so it would stand to reason that the Bears’ sophomore signal caller sits atop this list.

Granted, without Thuney protecting his flank, Williams might get sacked off of said list altogether, but still.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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