The Impact of Former Chiefs OL Has Been Felt

The Kansas City Chiefs had to make a tough decision earlier this offseason by trading away veteran offensive guard Joe Thuney. With money becoming a complication, the Chiefs traded Thuney to the Chicago Bears for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick.

The Chiefs bit the bullet by trading Thuney, especially following a year where the offensive line wasn't the most convincing. Left in the system, the Chiefs have two players fighting for the vacant left guard role that Thuney once filled, making the offseason that much more competitive internally.

With Thuney gone, Trey Smith no longer has the left guard to his right guard. While that's just the way the business side of football works, Smith and the rest of the Chiefs, who were lucky enough to play with Thuney, will have to move on quickly for the sake of winning in 2025.

That being said, Smith recently joined Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce and his brother Jason on the New Heights podcast to discuss Thuney. While he's no longer a Chief, Smith thinks very highly of his former teammate, and even went as far as to say he'll collect a nice accolade at the end of his career.

"I think Joe's going to be a future Hall of Famer," Smith said to the Kelce brothers. "He's not the biggest guy, but he knows how to manipulate people's body. Like, on a different level, I didn't even know was possible."

"Just having to lean on him, especially when I was younger; 'Hey, Joe, what would you do in this situation? How would you attack this? How would you sort of set this block up?' and having that resource there was invaluable."

Thuney and Smith both started their Kansas City tenure in 2021. As you'd assume, the two were very close and created a bond that will last much longer than their playing days. The Bears and Chiefs won't face off this season, but it's likely the two will keep up with each other.

"Just having a genuine friend, too. A guy you can depend on, a brother, it's priceless. I have a ton of gratitude being able to work with Joe, being able to work cohesively as an interior unit as well. That was special," Smith said.

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