In one of the most bizarre and mysterious NFL stories in recent memory, the Kansas City Chiefs remain silent regarding the status of left tackle Josh Simmons.
For background, the Chiefs have spent nearly a decade searching for a franchise left tackle. Patrick Mahomes has started in five Super Bowls with five different players protecting his blind side. In the three Super Bowls where Mahomes’ left tackle performed even decently, the Chiefs won. In the two where that protection failed, the Chiefs were blown out.
Given the Chiefs’ perpetual position near the bottom of the draft order and the resources already devoted to their star quarterback, finding a reliable, long-term answer at left tackle has been challenging. Yet this offseason, the ideal scenario seemed to unfold.
According to NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler, several teams believed that Ohio State’s Josh Simmons had the best tape of any offensive tackle in the draft. However, he was coming off a torn patella tendon and reportedly showed signs of “character concerns” while in college. As a result, Simmons slid down the board and fell to pick No. 32 — the Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City landed a top-ten talent at one of the league’s most important positions with the final pick of the first round.
To this point, in his rookie season, Simmons played like the franchise left tackle that has long eluded the franchise. Even in his first season and returning from a serious knee injury, he had been statistically among the league’s top tackles when left on an island this season.
Then came Sunday.
Hours before the Chiefs’ primetime matchup against the Lions, the team added Simmons to the injury report. He was listed as not injured but dealing with a “personal” issue. NFL Network soon reported Simmons as “doubtful.” SiriusXM added that he was managing a “family” concern.
Ultimately, Simmons missed the game, and head coach Andy Reid declined to comment afterward.
On Tuesday, ESPN Chiefs reporter Nate Taylor — arguably the best, most connected NFL beat reporter in the industry — revealed new details. Taylor explained that Patrick Mahomes had arrived at the stadium on Sunday and noticed his left tackle was missing. Team officials and even some coaches were unaware of Simmons’ whereabouts when Mahomes asked.
“Josh Simmons is in California… he left at a time on Sunday that is extremely unusual. I’m not sure when he’s coming back, and as of right now, the team doesn’t know when he’s coming back,” Taylor reported on KCSN.
Days later, Simmons remains away from the team. On Wednesday, Reid again offered no comment and said that general manager Brett Veach is now handling the matter. Mahomes, speaking before practice, told reporters he is “praying” for Simmons.
Notably, the NFL’s top insiders have provided no additional context. OutKick senior NFL reporter Armando Salguero reached out to Simmons’ agent Drew Rosenhaus, who told OutKick: “It’s a personal matter, so I don’t have a comment for you at this time.”
Due to the intrigue and the mysterious nature of the situation, I provided a full recap on X:
A point worth emphasizing is the “illness” with which the Chiefs listed Simmons the previous week. On Oct. 6 – six days before Simmons left for California – just hours before the Chiefs’ Monday night matchup against the Jaguars, the team added him to the injury report with the label.
Coincidence? It doesn’t appear so.
On Thursday morning, Taylor provided another update during an appearance on 96.5 The Fan in Kansas City. Taylor said his reporting led him to believe that the “illness” before the Jaguars game is related to Simmons’ current situation. Taylor added that he believes Simmons is dealing with a “family” matter and is “fearful” of what could happen.
Listen to part of the segment below and the full segment here:
With that information, we can deduce that Josh Simmons was dealing with something earlier this month, and that something escalated to the point that, on Sunday, he left the team hours before the start of his game.
It also appears that the standard communication process for a player missing a game was not followed. If it had been, Mahomes and the coaching staff would have known before warm-ups that their starting left tackle was in another state.
But just as telling as what we know is what we don’t. Based on the team’s listing, it’s clear the issue is not a physical injury. However, the word “illness” is vague — it could mean a physical ailment, a mental health struggle, or something else entirely.
The reports of a “family” situation are equally unclear. We don’t know whether the issue involves a family member or if Simmons himself is going through something for which he feels he needs his family for support.
Admittedly, the tone surrounding the story has grown ominous. By all indications, Josh Simmons is facing something serious — serious enough to cause him to miss start(s) in the NFL, his quarterback to pray for him, and his team to say nothing publicly.
In theory, the organization would want to ease speculation by releasing a brief statement assuring fans that Simmons is safe and requesting privacy. Yet it’s not clear how much the Chiefs even know about Simmons’ current status or how frequent communication has been.
On a personal level, we can only hope everything is okay. It’s rare in 2025 for a football player to be at the center of such intense speculation with so little concrete information. Fairly or not, this story isn’t going away. Simmons’ job is to protect the most valuable asset in the NFL — Patrick Mahomes.
We obviously hope that Simmons, his family, and everyone involved are okay. It’s all so strange, eerie, and bewildering. Even when you connect the dots, nothing completely adds up.
Read the full article here
