Joe Thuney has played with the upper echelon of quarterbacks throughout his NFL career.
He spent four seasons with Tom Brady in New England and won two Super Bowls. Then, from 2021 to 2024, Thuney went to Kansas City and won two more Super Bowls with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback.
By the time Thuney joined the Patriots and Chiefs, both quarterbacks had cemented themselves atop the NFL ranks at their respective positions.
What does Thuney have to say about playing with Caleb Williams in Chicago
The veteran offensive lineman is in a completely different situation in Chicago with Caleb Williams entering his second NFL season. Williams isn’t in the same discussion as the two previous quarterbacks mentioned, especially considering that Brady and Mahomes had far more experience than Williams when Thuney joined those teams. Still, the veteran offensive lineman noticed some positive signs.
“I think that Caleb has done a great job of keeping everything in stride, even for a younger player, someone who doesn't have the amount of repetitions that my other quarterbacks have had, and he has done a great job of just working his tail off, before work starts, and he stays after,” Thuney said. “It's been great to see that. His dedication to the game and to the playbook has been awesome. Those are things that you're really excited to see as an offensive lineman."
Something that also excites Thuney is just the commitment Williams devotes to creating relationships with the offensive linemen. It’s something that doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Yeah, it's a compliment, he wants to come and hang out with the O-line, it's great,” Thuney said. “We love him. He's a great guy. It's always great to talk football with him, talk anything with him, really. It's fun to talk ball."
That connection between Williams and the offensive line will be important this upcoming season. After being sacked a league-high 68 times in 2024, Williams can’t afford to have another year be derailed by bad protection.
Williams playing on time and trusting his offensive line in front of him should allow him to play the way head coach Ben Johnson needs him to, so that his offense can operate effectively.
No surprise that it will take time, including practice and game reps, to get to that point. Thuney has already seen the young quarterback take positive strides in Johnson’s offense this offseason.
“Early on, way back in the spring, we're all just trying to learn (the playbook),” Thuney said. “He's done a great job of really mastering the language, the calls, everything. There are always things that we want to talk about. As an offensive line, with the quarterback, there are always things that we want to hash out; how we see this, what we think about that. That's just football. It's been great to learn with him and see how he sees the game and everything. I've been really happy."
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That’s glowing remarks from a veteran offensive lineman who has seen two of the best quarterbacks to play the position. Now, Thuney will play a role in helping Williams carve his own path in the NFL.