Former Patriots star's historic feat exposes franchise-altering mistake

For a franchise that's preached about value for decades, it's hard to fathom how they could have mishandled a key financial decision so badly that it's taken several years to figure out a solution.

In fact, you could still argue that the New England Patriots don't have a clear-cut answer at a position that was a pillar of strength throughout the dynasty era.

However, while Mike Vrabel, Eliot Wolf, and the rest of the Patriots' brain trust hope that former first-round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker can anchor the left guard spot for at least the foreseeable future, the man who filled that role for four outstanding seasons just earned a huge sign of respect from his peers that further exposes one of Bill Belichick's most egregious mistakes as general manager.

Joe Thuney finally cracks the NFL Top 100, just in time to remind the Patriots of what they lost

Offensive linemen rarely get the recognition they deserve for their efforts. However, after a decade in the league, Joe Thuney finally received the ultimate tip of the cap from his fellow NFL players by earning the No. 49 spot on the NFL's Top 100 list.

Considering he's a four-time Pro Bowler and four-time Super Bowl champion, it seems a bit surprising that Thuney has never been ranked among the top 100 players by his peers. Yet after being named a first-team All-Pro for the third time in his career, the Chicago Bears star can officially say he's cracked the top half of the list.

Of course, the quiet technician probably doesn't care that much about an individual accolade like this.

But the fact that Thuney remains at the top of his game (he's arguably even better than he was during his time in New England) should raise questions about how (and why) the greatest coach of all time let a viable Pro Football Hall of Fame candidate walk right out the door.

Patriots are still paying the price for Bill Belichick's arrogance

Despite cementing his status as one of the team's most reliable and top-performing players, Joe Thuney found himself on the wrong side of the negotiating table with Bill Belichick.

Clearly worthy of a contract extension, the ultra-durable left guard didn't get one. In fact, Belichick bizarrely elected to use the franchise tag on Thuney in 2020—a move that cost the team $14.78 million for one more season of his services.

That may have made sense if Belichick planned to trade Thuney over the summer or by the trade deadline. Yet even with the Patriots in the midst of a rocky campaign with Cam Newton leading their offense, Belichick refused to flip one of the team's few valuable assets for draft capital.

Instead, the Patriots paid almost $15 million to keep Thuney in Foxboro for one more season despite having one of the weakest rosters of the Belichick era.

That decision looks even more egregious when you consider all the factors at play.

First, Thuney was one of the rare homegrown stars from the latter half of the Belichick era. The Patriots notoriously whiffed on so many early-round picks during that time that the fact they landed a top-flight guard in the third round was a huge victory. It should have been a no-brainer to keep someone you drafted, developed, and watched blossom into a respected leader and on-field competitor.

Secondly, if you weren't going to keep Thuney around for the long term, why not flip him before the 2020 season or at least by the trade deadline? You could have easily gotten something in the range of a fourth-round pick—perhaps even higher if you found the right suitor.

To let him walk for nothing after what was essentially a throwaway season should have put Robert Kraft on red alert, especially after watching Tom Brady instantly turn the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into Super Bowl champions.

Can the Patriots finally fill the void left by the future Hall of Famer?

Ultimately, Thuney pulled the ultimate level-up move by leaving the middling Patriots for the Kansas City Chiefs. He signed a well-deserved five-year, $80 million deal and quickly proved why the Chiefs went all-in to make him part of Patrick Mahomes' protection squad.

While Thuney earned another Super Bowl ring and more individual accolades, the Patriots failed to find a successor to their stalwart left guard.

In fact, the situation got downright embarrassing.

Perhaps nothing epitomized the absurdity of the final years of the Belichick era more than using a first-round pick on Cole Strange to fill the void left by Thuney.

Patriots fans don't need a reminder of just how awful a decision that was. But let's just say selecting Strange may go down as Belichick's worst draft-day decision, given the fact that Strange was unanimously viewed as a third- or fourth-round talent (at best).

With Strange struggling to stay healthy and justify his first-round billing, the Patriots have cycled through the likes of Ben Brown and Jared Wilson, and even tried drafting mid-rounders like Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson. Yet none of those players have proven to be the answer at left guard.

Now, the Patriots are putting all of their eggs in the Alijah Vera-Tucker basket.

Whether that pays off remains to be seen.

One thing's for sure, though: they never should have let Joe Thuney leave in the first place.

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