The Kansas City Chiefs are on a quest to win another Super Bowl – it would be their fourth in the Patrick Mahomes era – but doing so could prove a bit tougher thanks to the emergence of one of their former promising stars. In the wake of the Jalen Ramsey trade, the Pittsburgh Steelers improved their secondary room greatly. However, it came at a cost, as they dealt Minkah Fitzpatrick back to Miami in return. In his place, the Steelers will turn to a player Chiefs fans know well in Juan Thornhill.

Thornhill is set to star in the Steelers base defense, but will have to show fans in Pittsburgh that he’s still the same player the Chiefs let walk to Cleveland following the 2022 season. Thornhill received his payday, as is custom for players pick off a Super Bowl champion. The Chiefs gained financial flexibility in return, and Brett Veach has certainly made the most of it. This is by no means an indictment of Veach’s decision-making, but merely an assessment of Thornhill’s potential. At 29 years old, the Steelers seem to still believe he’s a starting-caliber safety.

Could Chiefs lack of interest in Juan Thornhill return come back to haunt them?

It should be noted that Thornhill was available to any interested NFL team this offseason. The Chiefs have belief in their current starting safety duo, headlined by Jaden Hicks and Bryan Cook. However, neither of those players are household names outside of the Kansas City area. There’s a reason for that, just as there’s a reason Thornhill did not receive much interest from the Chiefs this offseason, if any at all.

Thornhill left on bad terms with the Browns. Cleveland fans called out Thornhill for his lack of hustle near the end of the 2024-25 season, which was exposed in a game against the New Orleans Saints. Thornhill took those personal attacks, well, personally, signing with the Browns division rival AND calling them out when Cleveland added his replacement. None of this is drama the Chiefs wanted on their conscience.

The Chiefs letting Juan Thornhill walk was always a risk

Kansas City let Thornhill walk because of the money he would likely receive on the open market, as well as his injury history. The Chiefs weren’t and still are not in a position to take risks with said contract decisions if they hope to build around Mahomes and sustain a Super Bowl-contending roster. That being said, Thornhill could’ve been had for cheap this offseason. His star factor has worn off since his last Super Bowl with Kansas City, proving more to be a product of the system than a Pro Bowl-caliber player in his own right.

Given Thornhill has already performed well in the Chiefs system once before, he would’ve been worth a flyer for the coming season on a one-year prove it deal. Kansas City thought otherwise, which is why the Steelers were able to swoop in in the first place.