The Chicago Bears have done their utmost this offseason to put 2024 number one overall pick Caleb Williams in a position to succeed in his second season as their starting quarterback.
They continued those efforts on Tuesday, with news emerging that the Bears had agreed to terms with All-Pro guard Joe Thuney on a two-year extension worth $35 million with $33.5 million guaranteed, according to multiple reports.
A four-time Super Bowl champion, Thuney was acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs in March in exchange for a fourth-round pick in next year’s draft.
Thuney was named first-team All-Pro for the second successive season in 2024. However, injuries and struggles from other players up front for the Chiefs saw him move from left guard to left tackle late in the campaign, and he struggled markedly in that spot in Kansas City’s blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59.
But Thuney will be back at left guard for the Bears in 2025, and will now be under contract through the 2027 season.
History says Thuney should be a pillar of strength on the offensive line for the Bears, following a rookie season for Williams that saw him sacked a league-leading 68 times, 16 more than C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans, who ranked second.
In addition to trading for Thuney, the Bears also dealt for another veteran guard in Jonah Jackson and signed center Drew Dalman to a three-year, $42 million deal in free agency as part of an overhaul of their interior offensive line.
They followed those moves up by adding to Williams’ weapons in the 2025 draft, taking tight end Colston Loveland 10th overall and then picking wide receiver Luther Burden III in the second round.
With that duo joining a pass-catching group that also includes D.J. Moore, who has topped 1,000 yards in four of his last six seasons, and 2024 first-rounder Rome Odunze, Williams is seemingly in an excellent position to thrive under new head coach Ben Johnson.
In hiring Johnson following his outstanding spell as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator, and then stacking the deck around him in terms of protection and weapons, Williams has little excuse but to deliver for Chicago in 2025.
