Bears guard Joe Thuney has little left to prove, but ‘just really love playing football’

Bears left guard Joe Thuney has 10 seasons, 23 playoff games and four Super Bowl championships under his belt, yet it never gets old.

Thuney has missed the postseason just once, with the 2020 New England Patriots, but he found last season’s playoff run, his first with the Bears, to be particularly exhilarating.

“It’s special seeing so many (fan) videos after the game,” he told reporters after Sunday’s training camp practice at Halas Hall. “We had a lot of close games and wins, and seeing families hugging (and) crying together.

“The Chicago Bears are such an iconic franchise, and it’s great the Chicago Bears being back in the playoffs … get a win (and) win the NFC North.”

However, no one in the building has been resting on their laurels, Thuney said.

“That’s what’s so cool is there’s still a very, very strong burning hunger and desire to push more and keep going, keep improving,” he said. “So there’s a lot still left to do.”

Thuney finished last season with his fourth straight Pro Bowl and third straight first-team All-Pro selections (and his fifth total All-Pro nod). He won the NFL’s inaugural Protector of the Year award in February. In July, an Associated Press panel voted him the league’s top interior offensive lineman.

But in Thuney’s mind, there’s a lot left for him to do too.

“It’s always humbling and exciting when you see your name attached to those kinds of things,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I am really concerned with how the team does and just want to start the season 1-0 and just really love playing football still, want to be out there with the guys. That’s what it is all about.”

He added that his productive season wasn’t created in a vacuum.

Thuney played next to three left tackles last season — and had to play the position himself in a divisional playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams because of Ozzy Trapilo’s knee injury. To his right, he had center Drew Dalman, who was selected to his first Pro Bowl before retiring in March.

“I’m just a small part in a big machine and just want to do my part the best I can,” Thuney said.

He hopes to maintain an elite level, though he turns 34 in November. He’s at the stage where the team sprinkles in rest days from practice.

“It’s different as you get older,” he said. “You gain more experience, but physically your body is different than what you are at 23.”

At some point Thuney has to contemplate the inevitable — the sunset of his career.

The Kansas City Chiefs traded him in March 2025 to create salary-cap room and rejuvenate their roster. Two months after acquiring him, the Bears signed Thuney to a two-year extension that is worth $35 million and runs through the 2027 season.

As it has his entire career, chasing “the tournament” — a deep playoff run — keeps him going.

“I still love working to get wins and trying to put together good seasons, but I still love playing and love competing and I feel great being a part of the Bears,” Thuney said. “A lot of great things going on. I just want to contribute what I can.”