Joseph Thuney ( ; born November 18, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

. He was drafted by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in the third round (78th overall selection) in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Early life

His parents Mike and Beth Thuney raised him and their other three children, Monica, Eric and Megan in

Centerville, Ohio Centerville is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A core suburb of Metro Dayton, its population was 24,240 as of the 2020 census. Geography Centerville is located at (39.638709, -84.148087). Although the city is located primar ...

. There Thuney was a member of two D4 state championship teams at

Archbishop Alter High School Archbishop Alter High School, also known as Alter High School, is a Catholic high school in Kettering, Ohio, United States. It is operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati and is named after Archbishop Karl Joseph Alter. History ...

. As a Senior he was Greater Catholic League Lineman of the Year and president of his senior class.

College career

Thuney played sparingly at

during his freshman year. He came into his redshirt sophomore year as the projected starting center but ended up starting the season opener at right tackle, the second game at right guard and the last 10 games at left tackle. In his junior year he started at left guard and at left tackle his senior year. He became the first member of the NC State Wolfpack to be named an All-American since

Jim Ritcher James Alexander Ritcher (born May 21, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Ritcher played college football for North ...

in 1979. He was a finalist for the Campbell Trophy, which rewards the best combination of academics, community service, and performance on the field, and he graduated from NC State cum laude in just three years. NFL reporter Matt Verderame claims that when Thuney took the Wonderlic Personnel Test he avoided answering many of the questions so he would not come off as too smart.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Thuney was drafted by the Patriots in the third round of the

with the 78th overall selection, 13 picks before the Patriots drafted his teammate, quarterback

Jacoby Brissett Jacoby Jajuan Brissett (born December 11, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). Following a college football stint with Florida, he played at NC State and was selected in the t ...

. Thuney won the starting left guard spot to start the season and remained the starter for all 16 regular-season games; according to Pro-Football-Reference.com, he played the highest number of snaps of any Patriot in 2016. He also started all three postseason games. On February 5, 2017, Thuney was part of the Patriots team that won

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confer ...

. In the game, the Patriots defeated the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

by a score of 34–28 in overtime. The

PFWA The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve t ...

named Thuney to its 2016 All-Rookie Team at guard. Thuney made it to his second straight Super Bowl when the Patriots defeated the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

in the

AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

. The Patriots failed to repeat as Super Bowl Champions when they lost 41-33 to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. Thuney once again started all 16 games at left guard for the Patriots in 2018, and for the third time in his three-year career, the Patriots made it to the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

. According to Mike Reiss of

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, that makes Thuney the first player in NFL history to start in the Super Bowl in each of his first three seasons. The Patriots defeated the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, 13–3, to win their second Super Bowl in three years. Thuney played every offensive snap for the team and helped contain Defensive Player of the Year

Aaron Donald Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American football defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh, where he received unanimous All-American honors, and w ...

. The Patriots placed the

franchise tag In the National Football League (NFL), the franchise tag is a designation a team may apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year if certain conditions are met. Each team has on ...

on Thuney on March 16, 2020. He signed the franchise tag on March 20, 2020. In 2020, with David Andrews out on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

, Thuney was pressed into service at

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for the Patriots' Week 3 game against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

Kansas City Chiefs

Thuney signed a five-year, $80 million contract with the

on March 18, 2021.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

North Carolina State Wolfpack bio

New England patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thuney, Joe 1992 births Living people American football offensive linemen NC State Wolfpack football players New England Patriots players Kansas City Chiefs players People from Centerville, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Ed Block Courage Award recipients American Conference Pro Bowl players