The Kansas City Chiefs might not have accomplished the ultimate goal of winning Super Bowl 59 and being the first-ever team in Super Bowl history to win three straight titles, but the 2024 season was still a memorable one. As the team puts the finishing touches on its 2024 season, it’s time for the organization to hand out awards for the year.
Every year, the Chiefs award one player the Derrick Thomas MVP Award with names like Jamaal Charles, Tony Gonzalez, and Patrick Mahomes being crowned as the team’s Most Valuable Player. Well, a new player has been crowned the Chiefs MVP, with Joe Thuney receiving the honors this season.
Joe Thuney crowned Chiefs MVP for 2024 season
This isn’t much of a surprise considering the sacrifice that Thuney made when he switched from left guard, a spot where he’s elite, to left tackle simply because the Chiefs didn’t have a better option there. Rookie Kingsley Suamataia, Wanya Morris, and D.J. Humphries all struggled to stick at left tackle so Thuney gave Kansas City the best option at an incredibly important position in the NFL.
Of course, as we saw, the move had consequences. It took Thuney out of the interior of the o-line and put Mike Caliendo in the role instead where he underwhelmed. The Super Bowl showed how badly the Chiefs’ offensive line had dropped off, as Mahomes was sacked six times and hit 11 times.
The Chiefs signed Thuney to a five-year deal worth $80 million in the 2021 offseason (right after the offensive line cost K.C. a Super Bowl win, sound familiar?) and 2025 will be the final year of his contract.
Thuney had previously spent five years with the Patriots before joining the Chiefs so in his nine NFL seasons, he’s played in six Super Bowls and won four rings. Not bad for a third-round pick out of North Carolina State.
Chiefs fans are grateful for the effort Thuney put in during the 2024 season because, without him making the switch to left tackle for the back half of the season, the Chiefs probably don’t make it as far as they did.