Tom Brady didn’t hesitate when Joe Thuney came up on the “New Heights” podcast.
Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce brought up the Bears’ offensive guard, and Brady answered with a full-throated endorsement of the player Chicago has leaned on since last offseason.
“I used to call him Looney Tunes. But Joe was like a third-round pick for us, and he played tackle at NC State.
We moved him to guard, started as a rookie, and Joe just came in, and he embraced all that. He had David Andrews next to him a few times as a center.
I mean, he was just the perfect guard. Size, strength, you know, probably he didn't have the longest arms, but it didn't matter, you know."
That kind of praise tracks with what Thuney did in Chicago. In 686 pass-blocking snaps last season, he gave up 15 pressures and one quarterback hit, and he didn’t allow a sack.
The production earned him a Pro Bowl nod, an All-Pro selection and the first-ever Protector of the Year Award. Pro Football Focus graded him at 79.4 overall, which placed him fifth among 81 NFL guards.
For the Bears, Thuney’s arrival changed the entire feel of the line. Chicago went from a unit that allowed a league-high 68 sacks in 2024 and fielded the NFL’s worst rushing attack to one that finished third in rushing yards and gave up just 24 sacks with Thuney and the other new additions in place.
His résumé already stacks up with the best of his era: four Super Bowl wins, four Pro Bowls, three first-team All-Pro honors and two second-team All-Pro selections. That kind of body of work is the sort that starts Hall of Fame conversations, especially for a guard.
And for Chicago, the price tag makes the whole thing look even better. General manager Ryan Poles sent the Kansas City Chiefs a fourth-round pick to land Thuney, a move that now looks like a steal.
After just one season, Thuney has already made a massive imprint on the Bears, and the idea that he might be the best offensive lineman in franchise history is no longer far-fetched.
In Other News...
Jay Cutler Pulled Back Into Another Awkward Public Divorce Fight
Jay Cutler has been dragged back into an uncomfortable post-divorce public back-and-forth with Kristin Cavallari, years after the former Bears quarterback and the reality TV personality finalized their split in 2022. The divorce ended nearly seven years of marriage, and the two have remained linked by the fact that they share three children and agreed to joint custody, a setup that has kept their family life in the public eye even after the legal process was supposed to be behind them.
The latest round of comments has once again put the settlement under a microscope, with Cutler pushing back on Cavallaris version of how things were handled. He has pointed to the fact that the divorce went through Tennessee court, suggesting the financial terms were handled there rather than in the way Cavallari has described, which has only added another awkward layer to a split that still seems to invite debate whenever either side speaks publicly. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Just Quietly Set Up A Bigger Tight End Decision
Sam Roush is officially under contract, giving the Bears one less rookie negotiation to worry about and a clearer picture of how their tight end room is taking shape. The third-round pick signed a four-year deal worth $7.35 million, and his arrival closes the book on Chicagos rookie class after he became the final Bears draft pick to put pen to paper.
What makes the move interesting is less the paperwork than the role waiting for him. Chicago is planning to use Roush primarily as a blocking tight end in its 2026 offense, with Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet expected to handle most of the passing work. It is a subtle arrangement on the surface, but it also hints at how the Bears want to balance their tight end usage as they sort out who does what in the years ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Suddenly Have A Reason To Believe In Caleb Williams' Protection
The Bears offensive line is starting to look like a real strength heading into 2026, which is a welcome shift for a team trying to give Caleb Williams a cleaner path in his second season. With Joe Thuney and Braxton Jones already part of the picture, the additions of Garrett Bradbury and Logan Jones have pushed the group into a conversation it has not often been part of in recent years.
NFL analyst Warren Sharp even went as far as ranking Chicagos line sixth in the league, a sign that the units stability is being taken seriously outside Halas Hall. If that evaluation holds and the front five comes together the way it appears capable of, the Bears could be looking at more than just better protection for Williams - they could be building the kind of foundation that changes the ceiling of the entire roster. [Read more 🡒]