Bears assistant coach confirms suspicions that Chicago was targeting another player before landing on Joe Thuney going into the 2025 season
The Chicago Bears were ready to go all in last season before making a smart pivot.
When the Chicago Bears hired head coach Ben Johnson last January, one of the first orders of business Johnson identified as a priority was improving the offensive line play from a season before. The first step was bringing a veteran coach back into the league in Dan Roushar.
“I felt Ben was unique in the sense that he’s driven as a play-caller, he’s an offensive-minded guy, but he’s one of the few guys that I felt like really understood offensive line play,” Roushar explained on Foster Swift SPORTS TALK. “That excited me when we started talking about the potential of putting this thing together.”
Johnson did enough to sway Roushar into joining the staff and the two started planning out what additions needed to be made to the current roster, which included finding three new starters on the interior of the offensive line.
Roushar noted that he and assistant offensive line coach Kyle DeVan put together a list of 30 players to consider bringing to Chicago, and confirmed the interest in one top guard many suspected the Bears would pursue last offseason.
Dan Roushar confirms the Bears had strong interest in Trey Smith before landing Joe Thuney
“We were targeting another player in Kanas City, Trey Smith was a high value signing out there. We knew the market was going to be high for him,” Roushar explained. “And Kanas City re-signs him and right away you realize that they may not be able to keep additional players. Well, it just worked out where Joe Thuney somehow, someway, was available in a trade scenario for us.”
It was widely expected that Chiefs right guard Trey Smith was a top target for the Bears had he hit the open market, but this is the first time a coach in Chicago actually mentioned his name. While the Bears weren’t able to land Smith, the timing still worked out in Chicago’s favor.
In late February, the Chiefs tagged Smith with the intention to work out a massive new extension. A few weeks later, the Bears pivoted to Jonah Jackson at the right guard spot in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams and then landed Thuney in a trade with the Chiefs. In free agency, the Bears quickly landed on center Drew Dalman to fill the final starting spot on the interior. By July, the Chiefs made Smith the NFL’s highest-paid guard on a four-year, $94 million extension.
The cost of acquiring Jackson and Thuney was a 2025 sixth-round draft pick and a 2026 fourth-round draft pick. A return that immediately proved to be a better decision for Chicago as opposed to paying high dollar for Smith on the open market. Both players played all 17 games with Jackson allowing just three sacks and Thuney having an outstanding year after earning first-team All Pro honors and becoming the NFL’s inaugural Protector of the Year.
It’s safe to say things worked out in the Bears’ favor last offseason. Thuney and Jackson will be staple players on the interior of the offensive line for the next two seasons and proved to be highly valuable additions to the unit.
Chicago Bears News
Bears have a dire cap situation that signals more moves to be expected before Ryan Poles can even think about the 2026 NFL Draft
The Chicago Bears are not in a good spot when it comes to the available cap space for 2026.
