After being pressured throughout Super Bowl 55, Patrick Mahomes is ecstatic after the Kansas City Chiefs signed offensive guards Joe Thuney and Kyle Long.
Super Bowl 55 was the first time we saw Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes look anything other than superhuman. Having offensive tackles Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher out for the big game, paired with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ruthless pass-rush equaled a 31-9 loss for the Chiefs.
Last week, the Chiefs opted to release both Fisher and Schwartz from their contracts to free up cap space. However, many were skeptical of how the Chiefs would be able to improve their pass protection without them. Well, the Chiefs signed former New England Patriot guard Joe Thuney to a massive deal at the opening of the legal tampering period. Then on Wednesday, Kansas City signed Kyle Long out of retirement to further solidify the interior of the offensive line.
Mahomes, as expected, was pretty happy that he is receiving some extra protection this offseason. And he proved it with two simple emojis in a tweet.
Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes receives protection in the form of Joe Thuney and Kyle Long
While Mahomes is happy with general manager Brett Veach’s huge free agency signings, he deserves some credit as well. Prior to the start of the legal tampering period, Mahomes restructured his contract to allow the Chiefs to accumulate more spending money this offseason.
In Super Bowl 55, Mahomes spent more time running away than he did standing in the pocket. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Mahomes was pressured 29 times in the big game setting a record that was previously held by Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly in Super Bowl 26.
As a result, Mahomes was only able to complete 26-of-49 pass attempts for 270 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
On Monday, the Chiefs signed Thuney to a five-year, $80 million contract. That caused Mahomes to tweet out a similar message following the signing. The Chiefs managed to pry Long away from the rival Las Vegas Raiders, as they are signing him to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million.
A happy and upright Mahomes makes for a better Chiefs team. It’s basic knowledge people. Credit to the Chiefs front office to avoid catastrophe and create a lock-solid offensive line.