Chiefs' Big Trade Was Painful, But Unfortunately Necessary

The Kansas City Chiefs made their first cost-cutting move of the offseason this week, trading offensive lineman Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.

The Chiefs saved $16 million by jettisoning Thuney in a move that they pretty much had to make in order to create some cap savings ahead of the NFL's new league year.

Even after dealing Thuney, Kansas City still isn't exactly in great shape financially, so even though trading the veteran may have hurt, the Chiefs really didn't have much of a choice.

Christian D'Andrea of USA Today understands why Kansas City traded Thuney, but also knows that it makes things pretty complicated for the club.

"Losing Thuney helps create some space to address Kansas City's need at tackle but also takes away a potential solution," D'Andrea wrote. "The veteran moved out to protect Patrick Mahomes's blindside throughout last season and performed admirably for an interior player. He wouldn't have been a full-time solution, but there was comfort in knowing he could make the switch."

D'Andrea, who gave the Chiefs a "B" grade for the swap, definitely makes a good point.

Kansas City needs offensive line help. That much was clear in its blowout Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. But in order to open up money to achieve that, the Chiefs had to get rid of...yep, one of their top offensive linemen.

It's certainly a double-edged sword, but such is the nasty nature of the NFL, especially when it comes to navigating the salary cap.

Kansas City will probably have to rely on the draft in order to truly fill the gaps in the trenches, which is why Oregon Ducks offensive lineman Josh Conerly is being perpetually mocked to the Chiefs.

You wouldn't think a team that has been to five Super Bowls in six years and has won three of them would have such issues, but roster turnover is a thing, especially for contenders who tend to operate very tightly against the cap.

That's why the Chiefs have clearly sprung some leaks, and now, the front office has to exercise some serious creativity in order to repair them.

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