The start of the new league year on Wednesday meant that the trade sending now former Kansas City Chiefs LG Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears became official for both teams.
The Bears announced the deal quickly, while Kansas City only recently acknowledged Thuney’s departure with a video send-off. With the deal becoming official, the two-time First-Team All-Pro took to Instagram to pen a goodbye to the Chiefs Kingdom after four years of memories and two more Super Bowl rings added to his collection.
“I wanted to express my gratitude to Chiefs Kingdom for the past 4 years. You embraced me with open arms, and the support and encouragement has been incredible. Thank you to the Hunt family for giving me the opportunity to play in Kansas City. Thank you to Coach Reid, Coach Heck, Coach Matthaei, the rest of the coaching staff, all those in the training room, weight room, equipment room, dining hall and everyone else in the building – you made my life so much easier and I hope I was able to give you something back. To my teammates, it was an honor and privilege to play and fight beside you. I hope you felt and knew that I gave everything I had to you and this game. All good thing must come to an end, and the journey continues. Bear down!”
An offensive lineman thanking the dining staff in a goodbye message is perhaps the most on-brand thing I’ve ever seen. However, it also symbolizes who Thuney has proven to be during his time with the Chiefs.
Thuney is not known for being the most outspoken person, but he was always a consummate professional and class act. He strived to do whatever was asked of him, and there was no better example than what fans saw in the games leading up to Super Bowl LIX. He played out of position when the team needed him and performed to the best of his ability. He certainly gave something back to Chiefs Kingdom during his four years in Kansas City.