Tag: Joe Thuney

Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury updates following Friday practice

#Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster will be available vs. the #Rams per Andy Reid, plus updates on WR Kadarius Toney, LG Joe Thuney, S Juan Thornhill and CB Chris Lammons.

Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided his usual post-practice injury update on Friday.

He kicked things off by listing the three players who didn’t practice on Friday. It’s safe to assume that most or all of this trio won’t play against the Rams in Week 12.

“As far as the injuries go, (Chris) Lammons didn’t practice today,” Reid said. “(Juan) Thornhill nor (Kadarius) Toney (practiced).

Lammons is still in the NFL’s concussion protocol and after some full practices earlier this week, they had to dial him back. Thornhill has been dealing with a calf injury. It sounded as if Steve Spagnuolo was preparing to be without Thornhill in Week 12 from the outset of the practice week.

As for Toney, Reid confirmed this is the same hamstring issue he dealt with prior to his trade to Kansas City. They’re simply being cautious with it so as to not make it a worse issue.

“He had (the hamstring injury) in New York,” Reid said. “He just felt it kind of coming back, so we just said, ‘Listen, let’s not go any further with it and make it more serious. So, we backed off on him.”

Moving onto the good injury news, Reid confirmed that starting LG Joe Thuney returned to practice and is making progress.

“So, the rest of the guys practiced,” Reid said. “(Joe) Thuney practiced and did a nice job. He’s working back in there.”

It sounds like Thuney will play on Sunday. The Chiefs will also be getting back one of their leading targets in the passing game. JuJu Smith-Schuster has officially cleared the concussion protocol and will be available to play against the Rams.

“JuJu (Smith-Schuster) did a good job,” Reid said. “He looked good. He’ll be available.”

There was one more absence during practice, with Chiefs DT Chris Jones getting what Reid described as a personal day. The absence will not put him at risk of missing the game on Sunday, though.

“No, he wasn’t here today for personal reasons,” Reid said of Jones. “Yeah, he’ll play.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=140873]

Titans DT Jeffery Simmons provides bulletin board material for Chiefs’ offensive line

After watching the tape, #Titans DT Jeffery Simmons said he’s “very confident” that their defensive line can dominate the #Chiefs’ offensive linemen.

It seems that opponents haven’t learned their lesson when it comes to bulletin board material yet.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to face the Tennessee Titans in Week 9 on “Sunday Night Football” in a battle between a pair of AFC heavyweights. For the second time this season, a defender for the opposing team has called out the Chiefs’ offensive line ahead of the game. Speaking on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Thursday, Titans DT Jeffery Simmons told Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan that after looking at tape of Kansas City’s offensive linemen, he’s confident in Tennessee’s ability to go out and dominate them.

“We know them. They know us,” Simmons said. “They haven’t changed. And honestly, we might be missing a couple pieces, but we haven’t changed, and the same with them. I watch tape. So I’m looking at the offensive linemen that we have to play against, and I’m very confident that we can go out there and dominate them. I’m looking forward to the matchup up front. Whoever it may be. (Joe) Thuney or Trey Smith at the guard position. But I’m very confident in our defense going out there and having a great day.”

Having a spot of déjà vu, Chiefs fans? That’s because Buccaneers LB Shaq Barrett made some very similar comments back in Week 4.

“I really don’t think it’s too much of a difference,” Barrett said. “I think we have a lot of favorable matchups. I think we really have an opportunity to dominate the game. I think we’ve got an opportunity to really impose our will as pass-rushers, as edge rushers in this game. We can really have like a coming out party. I know we had six sacks the other game, but we can really have a coming-out party as edge defenders in the position group for this game.”

After Barrett’s comments on the Chiefs’ O-Line, the team dropped 41 points on their defense that had allowed just nine points per game coming into Week 4. The Bucs still haven’t quite recovered from that loss either.

This clip of Simmons is already going around the locker room, with Chris Jones recently retweeting the clip of his comments on Twitter. Rest assured the offensive line has heard about it and will have a little extra motivation when they line up against No. 98 heading into this one.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=139720]

Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury update ahead of Wednesday practice

A trio of players will miss the first #Chiefs practice of the week on Wednesday. Plus updates on Trent McDuffie, Bryan Cook, Blake Bell and Lucas Niang.

Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided his usual pre-practice injury update on Wednesday.

A trio of Chiefs players will be absent as the team kicks off the practice week. Reid gave the rundown on those injuries.

“The guys that won’t practice today — Mike Danna won’t practice — though he’s doing better we’re just going to hold him out,” Reid said. “And then, (Joe) Thuney fits into that same category with the ankle sprain. So, he won’t practice today. We’re just monitoring those two guys. Then (Rashad) Fenton won’t practice with the hamstring.”

Danna has been dealing with a calf injury and played 25 defensive snaps in the Week 6 game against the Buffalo Bills. Joe Thuney was rolled up on by a defender and Patrick Mahomes during the course of the game, suffering an ankle sprain. He played all 67 offensive snaps for Kansas City in Week 6.

It seems like both of these players are just getting rest days to start the week, but should be good to go for the Week 7 game in San Francisco.

As for the secondary situation, Fenton misses his fourth consecutive practice with a hamstring injury. Trent McDuffie, who Reid spoke in-depth about on Monday, will practice as things get underway on Wednesday.

“(Trent) McDuffie will practice and we’ll just see how he does as we go,” Reid said.

Bryan Cook, who missed Week 6 with a concussion, is also back at practice on Wednesday per Reid.

Reid also gave an update on Lucas Niang (Knee/PUP) and Blake Bell (Hip/IR). Neither player will be back this week, but Reid does expect them back at some point this season.

“Most likely it’ll be after the bye (week),” Reid said. “Somewhere after the bye. But they are getting better. We just have to see how it goes.”

[listicle id=138844]

Chargers’ causes for concern vs. Chiefs in Week 2

A look at some causes for concern as the Los Angeles Chargers gear up to face the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chargers came away from Week 1 with a victory, but staying undefeated through Week 2 will be a tall task.

With a short week against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, Los Angeles will have to come ready to play if they want to start 2-0 on the season.

Here are four reasons to be concerned about their chances:

No missed beats without Tyreek Hill

AFC West fans everywhere but Kansas City were elated to see Hill traded to Miami, hoping that the loss of his telepathic connection with Patrick Mahomes would result in a more down-to-earth Chiefs offense. Not so in Week 1, as Mahomes tossed five touchdowns and racked up 44 points against a hapless Cardinals defense. Travis Kelce, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Mecole Hardman, and Jody Fortson all had touchdown receptions. With Mahomes under center, Kansas City will always be a high-powered offense, and JC Jackson’s status is still unclear because of the short week. Keeping the Chiefs from running wild will be key to the Chargers’ success.

A much better offensive line

Last week’s previews mentioned frequently that the Raiders’ offensive line looked to be one of the worst in the league, and that bore out on Sunday. LA got home for six sacks, three of which came from Khalil Mack, including a game-clinching strip-sack of Derek Carr in the fourth quarter. But the Chiefs have much more talent up front than Vegas did. Orlando Brown, Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, and Trey Smith make up one of the best groups in the league, even if right tackle Andrew Wylie isn’t at the same level. The Chargers’ pass rush will be tasked with proving they’re for real in this one.

Secondary talent upgrades

“Upgrade” here both in the sense that Kansas City is improved from last season and that their secondary is better than Las Vegas’. L’Jarius Sneed has continued to develop into one of the league’s better corners in his young career. Trent McDuffie played well in his debut before injuring his hamstring, which has made his status for Thursday unclear. Juan Thornhill and Justin Reid are a solid safety duo. Justin Herbert carved up the Raiders secondary on Sunday, looking like a top-three QB in the league. He has the talent to do so again against the Chiefs, but he’ll have to come out sharp to get LA going.

Crowd noise

Any time the Chargers visit Arrowhead, crowd noise is going to be a factor. It’s a divisional game, on national TV, with likely divisional and playoff implications down the road considering the talent of both teams. I’d expect it to be a playoff atmosphere. With a rookie right guard and newer receivers likely in the rotation because of Keenan Allen’s hamstring injury, some concern about offensive rhythm is justified. If the Chargers can overcome such an obstacle, it’ll be the first step in proving they can hang deep into January.

Chiefs offensive linemen snubbed from NFL Top 100 Players list of 2022

#Chiefs interior offensive linemen Creed Humphrey, Joe Thuney and Trey Smith continue to be vastly underrated.

The Kansas City Chiefs only had three players voted into the NFL’s Top 100 Players list for the 2022 season.

Peers voted Chris Jones, Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes among the Top 100 players in the NFL, but that’s it for 2022. Despite rebuilding their offensive line to great success, none of the Chiefs’ new offensive linemen made the Top 100 this year.

The most notable absence is C Creed Humphrey, who had an argument to be considered the NFL’s best center as a rookie in 2021. He certainly graded out that way with only 10 pressures allowed on the year in 805 pass-blocking snaps. Chargers’ Corey Linsley (60) and Eagles Jason Kelce (71) were the only centers to make the NFL Top 100 list this year.

Then there are Chiefs’ LG Joe Thuney and RG Trey Smith, who also both have arguments to be considered among the best in the NFL at their positions. Thuney in particular has been overlooked by the NFL Top 100 (and for most other accolades) for several years now, despite being one of the best at his position. A total of four guards made it on the NFL Top 100 list this year with Browns’ Wyatt Teller (83), Cowboys’ Zack Martin (68), Browns’ Joel Bitonio (55), and Colts’ Quentin Nelson (28).

Generally speaking, these NFL Top 100 lists haven’t been great at giving credit to players in the offensive trenches. It’s one of the most thankless jobs in the NFL, yet also the most indispensable. This year the list certainly did a disservice to the big men in the trenches for Kansas City.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=135281]

Joe Thuney impressed with Chiefs’ Roderick Johnson filling in at left tackle

#Chiefs LG Joe Thuney has come away impressed with what he’s seen from LT Roderick Johnson so far.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a new player protecting Patrick Mahomes’ blindside during training camp.

Through the first two days of practice, fifth-year NFL veteran Roderick Johnson is filling in at left tackle. Franchise-tagged starter Orlando Brown Jr. continues to stay away from training camp amidst a contract dispute, but the team won’t put things on hold without him. Instead, they’ve been proceeding with Johnson, who enters his first year with Kansas City in 2022.

Andy Reid praised Johnson for his work during the offseason program. After several weeks of working beside him, Chiefs starting LG Joe Thuney has also come away impressed with what he’s seen from Johnson.

“Yeah, for sure, he’s doing really well,” Thuney told reporters on Thursday. “Digging in the playbook and communicating a lot. Just trying to be on the same page every play. You know, he’s a great guy. Yeah, so he’s just trying to get better every day.”

The former fifth-round draft pick, Johnson, has three career starts at left tackle with the Houston Texans in 2020. There had been some talk of Thuney potentially sliding over to guard in Orlando Brown Jr.’s absence. While Thuney says he’ll play wherever the coaches ask, he seemed quite uncomfortable with the line of questioning.

“You know, whatever the coaches want me to play, I’m willing to play,” Thuney said. “I just like to play football, it doesn’t matter where. Just want to be out there on the field with the guys. That’s kind of the bottom line. Anywhere, I just want to play.”

It’s safe to assume that for now, Thuney will throw his support behind Johnson at the left tackle spot as long as Brown Jr. is away from the team. Should the team need him to fill in, he’ll be ready to do so.

[listicle id=133085]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Chiefs’ coaches, players react to signing of DE Carlos Dunlap

Steve Spagnuolo, Chris Jones and Joe Thuney all weighed in on the #Chiefs’ signing of DE Carlos Dunlap after training camp practice on Thursday.

The Kansas City Chiefs finally made a move to reinforce their depth along the defensive line, signing veteran DE Carlos Dunlap on a one-year deal.

After the team’s training camp practice on Thursday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was asked to speak about the signing. He declined to go into too much detail about it because he didn’t know whether the deal had officially been consummated.

“I know there is talk out there about us signing a player,” Spagnuolo told reporters. “I don’t know if there is pen to paper right now, so I won’t go there. I did have a chance to speak with (Carlos Dunlap) last night. It was a good visit and I’ll let Coach Reid take it from there.”

Spagnuolo mentioned that the team’s edge rusher group was a bit on the younger and inexperienced side. When he was asked to go into a little more detail, Dunlap’s experience was something that was brought up.

“I’m always happy to add big, long guys that have experience and have played in the league,” Spagnuolo said. “But I’ll be honest with you, I do know something about the player just from afar. But (I won’t know more) until we get him in here and can find out where we can use him best. And that’s what I told him when I talked to him last night.”

Chiefs DT Chris Jones is quite familiar with Dunlap and had high praise for his newest teammate ahead of his official arrival.

“I mean, Carlos Dunlap, his resume speaks for itself,” Jones said. “I think he had 7-8 sacks last year for Seattle. You know, he’s a high-character guy. I trained with him this offseason in Miami. If we’re able to add him and the report is true, we’ll accept Carlos with open arms. He’s a veteran guy who has had a lot of experience in this league. To have a veteran guy like that in this position group, I think it would be remarkable.”

Chiefs LG Joe Thuney isn’t as familiar with Dunlap, though he has played against him a few times in the past.

“Yeah, (the Chiefs are getting) just a talented defensive lineman who has been in the league, a veteran of the NFL for a long time,” Thuney said. “Obviously, we have a great staff and GM, they do a great job of putting the best team together. I have absolute trust in them. I’m sure he’ll be a great addition.”

The general sense seems to be that the Chiefs will benefit from Dunlap’s veteran presence. Not only will knowledge and skill come into play on the football field, but it will also be shared with the young players in the locker room who are looking to take their game ot the next level.

[listicle id=133045]

Chiefs LG Joe Thuney named fourth-best guard and fourth-best interior offensive lineman

#Chiefs LG Joe Thuney was regarded highly in both ESPN’s interior offensive line rankings and @TheNFLWire’s offensive guard rankings.

One year after signing Joe Thuney to a five-year, $80-million-dollar contract, the Kansas City Chiefs’ left guard is still regarded as one of the best interior offensive linemen in the league.

In two recent rankings — Touchdown Wire’s top-11 offensive guards and ESPN’s top-10 interior offensive linemen — Thuney was ranked as the fourth-best in the league. Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar’s method involves a blend of film study and statistical analysis. He found that Thuney made a near-flawless adjustment to Kansas City’s offense compared to the system he came from in New England.

“In 2021, Thuney allowed one sack, two quarterback hits, and 14 quarterback hurries on 956 pass-blocking snaps. Going from the Patriots’ quick game to Kansas City’s theater of randomness might give ordinary guards a problem, but Thuney has proven to be anything but.

Thuney isn’t a pure power blocker at 6-foot-5 and 308 pounds, but he’s always been a sound technician, and that’s how he deals with bigger, more aggressive disruptors.”

A number of film examples prove Thuney’s technical excellence throughout a variety of different circumstances, from pass-blocking to working as a cutback blocker in the run game.

ESPN’s methodology is a bit different. In addition to film and statistical analysis, it surveys 50 NFL executives, coaches, scouts and players asking them to reveal a top-10 list of players at a particular position. An anonymous NFC executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler what they believe makes Thuney great.

“Great technique, awareness, uses his intelligence to stay in control of the game,” They said of Thuney. “He’s just really dependable.”

Dependability was certainly the name of Thuney’s game in 2021. In Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills, Thuney played through the entire game with a broken hand without even telling his teammates. He’d play with that hand injury the rest of the season and start all 17 regular season games. He also started a game at left tackle when a pregame calf injury forced Orlando Brown Jr. out of the game. He allowed no sacks and just two pressures during that game.

Two different methods and they both came to the same conclusion — Thuney is one of the best of the best at his position in the NFL.

[vertical-gallery id=132216]

The NFL’s top 11 offensive guards

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar continues our position lists with his complication of the NFL’s 11 best offensive guards.

While a lot of our positional lists for the 2022 NFL season feature all kinds of new players bumping previous stars off their podiums, our list of the best offensive guards is very consistent from then to now. Only two of the guards who made the list last year are off this year — Ali Marpet of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who retired, and Brandon Scherff, formerly of the Washington Redskins/Football Team/Commanders and now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose injury history and overall excellence when healthy took a  turn in a different direction.

Perhaps the consistency is inherent to the position — is it possible that guards have less of a performance variance from season to season than players at other positions, even when they switch teams? Joe Thuney went from the Patriots to the Chiefs in the 2021 offseason with a five-year, $80 million contract, and he was just as good in a very different system. Kevin Zeitler went from the Giants to the Ravens, proved to be a perfect fit in Baltimore’s system, and might have been even better than he was before.

That’s potentially good news for former Patriots guards Ted Karras and Shaq Mason, who have new homes with the Bengals and Buccaneers, respectively. Not to mention former Rams and Titans guard Rodger Saffold, now with the Bills.

Last year’s list was compiled by our own Mark Schofield, and this year’s list by yours truly with no cribbing, so there you go. And while this list of guards is very much in line with our 2021 version, there is some movement inherent in these rankings. There’s a new guy at the top, while the former guy at the top could very well be there again with more consistent health, and a much, much, MUCH more consistent quarterback than he had last season.

With all that out of the way, here are Touchdown Wire’s top 11 guards in anticipation of the 2022 NFL season.

The NFL’s top 13 safeties

The NFL’s top 12 slot defenders

The NFL’s top 12 outside cornerbacks

The NFL’s top 11 linebackers

The NFL’s top 11 edge defenders

The NFL’s top 12 interior defensive linemen

The NFL’s top 12 centers

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, Pro Football Focus, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).

Chiefs restructure contract of G Joe Thuney to create cap space

The #Chiefs created some salary cap space by restructuring the contract of LG Joe Thuney per a new report.

The Kansas City Chiefs created a little cap space to give themselves some breathing room during free agency.

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Chiefs have restructured the contract of Joe Thuney. They’ve converted a portion of his $13.9 million base salary for the 2022 NFL season into a signing bonus, which clears over $9.6 million in cap space.

This brings Thuney’s cap number for the 2022 NFL seasons down to about $8 million. The bonus money is now prorated over the life of the contract, meaning that Thuney’s cap number will go up in each of the three years remaining on his contract. In 2023, for instance, Thuney’s cap number will now be around $22 million for Kansas City when it was set to be $19 million prior to the restructure.

Despite this contract restructure being reported today, it’s likely that it already happened and that the Chiefs have already spent the majority of this cap space already. The team did free up some cap space by reworking Frank Clark’s contract previously, but that was only to get them under the cap by the March 16th deadline. It wasn’t exactly enough space to accommodate all of the signings and re-signings they’ve made during the free agency period.

This type of contract restructuring was one of the many ways that the team could create cap space this offseason. The team has a few more contracts (Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Travis Kelce) that they were able to do this type of salary to signing bonus conversion with, but it’s unclear if they made those moves or not.

[listicle id=125873]