The Kansas City Chiefs had a left tackle issue most of the season. The solution: Move back-to-back first-team All-Pro guard Joe Thuney out there to protect Patrick Mahomes' blind side.
The move worked, helping stem the leaky left tackle problem en route to a third consecutive Super Bowl.
During this week's edition of SiriusXM's "Let's Go" podcast, Chiefs coach Andy Reid discussed Thuney's willingness to switch positions with Jim Gray and Bill Belichick, who coached the lineman for his first six seasons in New England.
"Bill let me have Joe Thuney, so I appreciated that," Reid said, chuckling. "But that kid, we have him out at left tackle now. I mean, Bill, you had him as… an All-Pro guard, and now he's out there at left tackle, and he doesn't say a word about it. He doesn't complain. And that's a whole different world out there. There's no security blanket when you're on that side there on your outside. That's a tough spot. But he just steps in and goes and never blinks on it."
The Chiefs poached Thuney from New England in 2021 as part of their offensive line remake, inking the guard to a five-year, $80 million contract.
"Yeah. I told him when we had him, I said, 'Joe, we're moving you to guard and you're never gonna play tackle again for us unless it's a dire emergency or we have nobody else,'" Belichick said. "But that's just the kind of guy he is. He's just gonna line up and play and you're gonna get his best on every snap."
In the offseason, the Chiefs had rookie Kingsley Suamataia and second-year tackle Wanya Morris battle for the LT job. The youngsters struggled immensely out of the gate. The rookie started the first two games but was out of place, getting burned by NFL vets. Morris fared little better in 11 starts. K.C. signed veteran D.J. Humphries, who was coming off a knee injury midway through the season. However, the veteran wasn't the answer, playing 92 offensive snaps in the final seven weeks.
With the left tackle issues, the Chiefs swung Thuney outside. The move worked.
K.C. allowed 35 sacks (2.7 per game) in Weeks 1-14. After moving Thuney outside in Week 15, the Chiefs gave up 11 sacks (1.8 per game), including playoffs -- five of those 11 sacks came in Week 18 when they rested starters.
Thuney playing left tackle isn't a long-term solution -- he's not as dominant outside as he is on the inside -- but it worked well enough to get K.C. to another Super Bowl. The O-line questions for 2025 can wait until after the game in New Orleans on Feb. 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
