KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs placed left tackle Josh Simmons on injured reserve Thursday, further delaying his return from a bulging, herniated disk in his lower back.
After being a limited participant in the Chiefs' three practices last week, Simmons still felt pain in his back and left leg, the same leg he had previously suffered a torn patellar tendon in back in October 2024 while playing for Ohio State.
Head trainer Rick Burkholder shared Thursday that Simmons reported feeling discomfort in his left calf following a training camp practice Aug. 17, prompting the team to order an MRI scan that revealed a "bulging, herniated" disk, he said.
"That disk problem was higher up than what we normally see in most of our offensive linemen, which complicated the case," Burkholder said of Simmons. "The repeat MRI, a few weeks later, showed that the disk had improved, so no surgery was recommended. Josh worked his tail off. He worked diligently with my staff every day. However, we feel he has plateaued in the rehab process. He's just not there yet."
Burkholder then explained that Simmons took the rest of Wednesday afternoon off to discuss the next steps of his treatment with his family and representative, thus the "personal" and "back" designations on the Chiefs' injury report.
According to Burkholder, "everybody" agreed that Simmons needed to be placed on injured reserve, a move that will force the lineman to miss at least the next four games against Seattle, Denver, the New York Jets and Atlanta. The earliest Simmons can return is Week 11, when the Chiefs host the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 22.
The team and Simmons are still determining how and where he will continue his rehab.
"I give a lot of credit to Josh, my physicians and my staff for navigating through this injury to the point where surgery is not recommended," Burkholder added. "He just needs more time to return to full function."
Simmons' absence has opened the door for undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson, who played right tackle in college for the Indiana Hoosiers. Benson is the first undrafted offensive rookie to start in Week 1 for Andy Reid during his entire 14-year coaching tenure in Kansas City. Benson has done a commendable job as the lineman most responsible for protecting the blind side of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, earning NFL offensive rookie of the month in September.
On the other side, right tackle Jaylon Moore, a five-year veteran, is currently in the NFL's concussion protocol. Joshua Ezeudu, who joined the Chiefs in late August via a trade with the New York Giants, is expected to start in Moore's place in Sunday night's game against the Seahawks.
Since selecting Simmons in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, the Chiefs have played more games without him (14) than with him (eight). The last time Simmons played was last year on Thanksgiving Day, when the team fell to the Dallas Cowboys. During that game, Simmons suffered a dislocated and fractured left wrist, a season-ending injury that required surgery. Before that setback, Simmons was an emerging rookie, as he allowed a pressure rate of just 6.6%, which at the time was the third-lowest mark among left tackles and the second lowest by a rookie left tackle since 2018 (minimum 150 pass blocks), according to Next Gen Stats.
"His job is to make sure that he's physically getting himself ready for what's next," offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said Thursday of Simmons "He's just got to focus one day at a time."