Joe Thuney Named No. 2 Guard in NFL, Bringing High Expectations While Returning from Injury

Chiefs guard Joe Thuney is one of the best protectors in football. Returning to the field after a serious injury ended his 2023 season, can Thuney stay at the top of the league?

Dec 17, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Kansas City Chiefs guard Joe Thuney (62) stands in the bench area during the second half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Chiefs guard Joe Thuney has been one of the best interior offensive linemen in football throughout his career, and his accolades continue to grow entering his age-32 season. As the veteran guard recovers from a serious injury, can he return to form in 2024?

Ranking the best interior linemen in the NFL, Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports listed his top 15 guards and top five centers ahead of the 2024 season, and Thuney landed as guard No. 2, behind only Atlanta Falcons guard Chris Lindstrom. Kerr noted Thuney's long-term excellence and his 2023 All-Pro honors as the reasons for his standing as one of the NFL's elite pass-blockers.

"Thuney earned first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career, a reward for arguably his best season at the age of 31," Kerr wrote. "One of the best pass-blocking guards in the league, Thuney earned his reputation protecting the interior for Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady over the course of his career. In 698 pass-blocking snaps, Thuney allowed three sacks and 29 pressures (a pressure rate per dropback allowed of 4.2%). The pass-blocking numbers were down from previous years, but Thuney has been the model of consistency for the guard position over the past five seasons."

Thuney's excellence has been beyond argument for several seasons now, but his 2024 campaign has an atypical hurdle for one of the league's best.

When will Joe Thuney return from his injury?

Thuney missed the Chiefs' AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LVIII victories due to a pectoral injury suffered against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs. At the time, the severity of Thuney's injury was publicly unknown, leaving his Super Bowl status up in the air until KC's final injury report of the week.

Roughly four months later, Thuney was still unavailable to practice throughout the Chiefs' offseason activities. After mandatory minicamp concluded on June 13, head coach Andy Reid provided an update on Thuney, which leaves plenty of uncertainty for KC's veteran guard.

"Joe's working his tail off and getting better," Reid said. "We've got to see exactly how that thing works — we've got to get clearance from the doctor and that whole process that goes on as we go. But he's making good progress. He'll be one of those guys that's kind of right on the border of whether he can go or not go from the healing part of it."

Despite the initial mixed bag of news from Reid, he later confirmed that the team expects Thuney back by Week 1, even if he isn't available at the beginning of training camp.

"Yes," Reid said. "For the regular season, yeah. I think he should be OK unless there's a setback somewhere."

Read More: Andy Reid Provides Mixed Update on Joe Thuney's Injury Recovery