When Ben Johnson took the Chicago Bears job two offseasons ago, all questions centered around Caleb Williams, naturally. The former Heisman Trophy winner and 2024 No. 1 overall pick had endured a brutal rookie season in a brutal offensive ecosystem. He had taken 68 sacks -- tied for third-most ever -- and his offensive coordinator got fired mid-season. His coach got fired two and a half weeks later, also midseason.

So Johnson needed stability, not only from his quarterback but for his quarterback. He and GM Ryan Poles went to work quickly and nailed one of their first moves as a duo: acquiring guard Joe Thuney from the Chiefs. Ahead of the Bears' "Thursday Night Football" showdown against the Patriots -- for whom Thuney played for five years and won two Super Bowls -- we revisit a move that helped kickstart Chicago's turnaround.

The trade

• Bears receive: LG Joe Thuney
• Chiefs receive: 2026 fourth-round pick (used in trade up to draft CB Nohl Williams 85th overall in 2025)

The Chiefs didn't move on from Thuney due to a decline in play. Even in his age-32 season, Thuney was producing at a high level. He was a first-team All-Pro for the second straight year and, amid injuries and underperformance along Kansas City's offensive line, even kicked out to left tackle and played serviceably. In fact, he finished 10th in Offensive Player of the Year voting.

Rather, the Chiefs were running into a financial crunch. They had franchise-tagged right guard Trey Smith. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor carried a massive cap hit. Center Creed Humphrey's extension was starting to kick in, as was defensive tackle Chris Jones'. There were high-priced veterans across the board. Thuney was due an extension -- he got two years and $35 million from Chicago two months after the trade -- and the Chiefs weren't going to be the ones to deliver it.

That's the price of success. The Chiefs had also prepared to lose someone up front. They drafted Kingsley Suamataia in the second round in 2024 and Wanya Morris in the third round in 2023, and after Thuney left, they drafted Josh Simmons in the first round in 2025.

The Bears were a natural landing spot. Johnson had worked with an excellent offensive line in Detroit and expressed it as a priority in his introductory press conference. While tackles often get the most credit and recognition along the offensive line, Johnson knew he had to fortify the interior, too. His interior lineman when he was the Lions' offensive coordinator -- Jonah Jackson, Graham Glasgow, Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler -- was arguably the NFL's best. In fact, a week before the Thuney trade, the Bears traded for Jackson, another move that bore fruit immediately.

Joe Thuney provides stability

Thuney was the headliner, but the Bears overhauling their entire offensive line was massive for making the Johnson/Williams partnership work.

2024 Bears offensive line: LT Braxton Jones, LG Teven Jenkins, C Coleman Shelton, RG Matt Pryor, RT Darnell Wright
2025 Bears offensive line: LT Theo Benedet or Ozzy Trapilo, LG Joe Thuney, C Drew Dalman, RG Jonah Jackson, RT Darnell Wright

Thuney was not only a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro again in 2025 (his third straight year earning both honors), but he won the inaugural Protector of the Year award. He finished first among guards in ESPN's Pass Block Win Rate and third among guards in ESPN's Run Block Win Rate. He was the face of a drastically improved unit overall.

Dalman, a free agency add, was a Pro Bowler before abruptly retiring this past offseason. Jackson solidied the right guard position, and Wright lept from promising youngster to second-team All-Pro. The Bears as a whole finished first in pass block win rate and fifth in run block win rate. Williams went from taking 68 sacks to 24. The Bears went from 5-12 with one of the league's worst offenses to 11-6 with one of the league's best offenses.

Thuney continues to play well this year, though not quite at the level he was last year, per the win rate metrics. Part of that could be the absence of Williams, who hurt his hamstring in Week 2 and missed Weeks 3, 4 and 5. Still, he has proved to be a crucial part of Chicago's sudden turnaround and remains a vital cog for a team looking to make it back-to-back postseason trips.

Chiefs find gem in Nohl Williams

The Chiefs ended up sending the 2026 fourth-rounder acquired in the Thuney trade plus a 2025 third-rounder (No. 95 overall) to the Patriots for the No. 85 pick in 2025 and using that pick on cornerback Nohl Williams.

Williams is looking like a stud -- and potentially a star. Out of 78 players who have been the primary defender on at least 25 passes this year, Williams ranks ...

• 1st in completion percentage allowed (34.5%)
• 2nd in passer rating allowed (45.6)
• 3rd in yards per attempt allowed (3.6)

It doesn't get much better than that, and considering 2026 first-round pick Mansoor Delane has been similarly awesome, the Chiefs might have found their top cornerback duo for the foreseeable future already. It's the latest secondary success story for a team that continues to draft cornerback gems -- Williams, Trent McDuffie (2022 first round), Jaylen Watson (2022 seventh round), L'Jarius Sneed (2020 fourth round).

Of course the Chiefs would have loved to keep Thuney. Offensive line was a major issue last year, when Patrick Mahomes got hurt and the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014. But Suamataia has stepped in ably this season, and the Chiefs are 5-0 and looking like a Super Bowl contender once again. This is what good teams do: They adapt, they identify and develop talent, and they keep going.