Joe Thuney doesn’t need a spotlight to make his case. He’s been doing that work for years with his hands in the dirt, and now he finally has the recognition to match it.
The veteran lineman landed at No. 49 on the NFL’s Top 100 list, a notable nod from his peers that arrives after a career built on durability, dependability, and winning. Thuney is already a four-time Pro Bowler, a four-time Super Bowl champion, and now a three-time first-team All-Pro. For the first time, he’s cracked the top half of the league’s annual player ranking.
No. 49 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026… @ChicagoBears OL Joe Thuney! @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/nujG7vXg6Z
- NFL (@NFL) July 27, 2026
The honor itself is one thing. The bigger story is what it says about the Patriots’ handling of him. New England had one of its steadiest pieces sitting right in front of it, and Bill Belichick still managed to let the situation go sideways.
Thuney was good enough for an extension, but he never got one. Instead, the Patriots slapped the franchise tag on him in 2020 and paid $14.78 million for one more season.
That might have made sense if the plan was to move him for value, but Belichick never did. Not before the season.
Not at the deadline. Not even during a year when the offense was led by Cam Newton and the roster was thin.
That’s what makes the decision sting. Thuney was one of the few homegrown success stories from the later years of the dynasty run, a third-round pick who developed into one of the league’s best guards. In a stretch when the Patriots missed so often in the draft, he was exactly the kind of player you build around.
Instead, they got one more season and then nothing.
He left for Kansas City on a five-year, $80 million deal and kept right on playing at an elite level. The Chiefs got a cornerstone for Patrick Mahomes’ protection. The Patriots got the bill.
What came next in New England only made the whole thing look worse. The Patriots used a first-round pick on Cole Strange to try to replace Thuney, even though Strange was widely seen as a third- or fourth-round talent at best.
The move never looked right, and it hasn’t aged any better. Strange has had trouble staying healthy and living up to that draft slot.
Since then, New England has kept searching. Ben Brown and Jared Wilson have been part of the mix, and the team has also taken shots on Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson. None of it has produced a clear answer at left guard.
So for now, the Patriots are banking on former first-round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker to hold the job. Whether that works is still an open question. But Thuney’s place on the NFL Top 100 is a sharp reminder of what New England lost - and how expensive that mistake has been.
In Other News...
Patriots Just Added A Familiar Defensive Lineman For A Reason
The Patriots have added another body to the interior defensive line, signing defensive tackle Casey Rogers after a successful workout and using the roster opening created when linebacker Otis Reese was released. Rogers is entering his third NFL season and is expected to provide rotational depth inside, a practical move for a team still sorting out its mix up front.
Rogers also brings a layer of familiarity with the coaching staff, which likely helped make the transition easier once the workout went well. The signing does not affect New Englands salary cap, and it gives the Patriots another experienced option while they continue to manage the edges of the roster with the season moving along. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Camp Is Putting One Thin Position Group Under The Microscope
Day 8 of Patriots training camp brought the usual blend of practice updates, injury watch and roster sorting, but it also kept attention on a position group that suddenly looks a lot thinner than usual. New England added defensive tackle Casey Rogers from the UFL, another move that reinforces how much the team is still trying to stabilize the interior of its defensive line as camp moves deeper into the summer.
The rest of the days reporting centered on who was on the field, who was not and how the coaching staff is shaping early roster projections. There were the standard rounds of media availability from players and coaches, along with notes on participation and recovery, but the bigger picture is hard to miss: the Patriots are still evaluating bodies and roles up front, and every camp rep matters when a position group is being watched this closely. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Camp Is Putting Unexpected Pressure On Two Position Battles
Early in Patriots training camp, the most interesting roster fights are not always the ones involving the biggest names. Tight end and cornerback have both turned into spots to watch, with rookies Eli Raridon and Tanner Arkin getting a real look as the team sorts through depth and roles behind the established pieces. Head coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Drake Maye have both offered encouraging views of the progress being made, which matters this time of year because summer practices often reveal who can handle more than just a handful of snaps.
Raridon and Arkin have each found ways to stay in the mix through the first weeks, and their work has added a little extra pressure to a competition that was already more open than it first appeared. Karon Prunty has also been part of that quieter roster battle, giving the Patriots more to evaluate as camp moves along and the cuts get closer. Nothing is settled yet, but the way these lesser-known players have kept showing up in key spots suggests the final decisions may be harder than expected. [Read more 🡒]