Josh Simmons' NFL timeline, ever since arriving with the Kansas City Chiefs by way of a first-round selection in the 2025 Draft, has been covered to death. Whether it be an injury (real or not), a personal situation where he up and left the team midseason, or various odd phrasing and team management of situations that have left fans in the dark, Simmons has not played a lot of football.
In 22 eligible games since being drafted, the Ohio State product has played in just eight. And with his latest placement on IR for a mysterious back injury, that number will soon grow to 26 games and counting.
Ian Rapoport of ESPN published his latest story concerning Simmons and the run-in he had with the two most important people during this Chiefs 10-year dynasty. Apparently, it happened just a day before the Chiefs decided to place him on IR. Coincidence? I think not.
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According to Rapoport, Simmons was told by both Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes to leave the room in the middle of a team meeting. Simmons, who has been dealing with a bulging disc in his back since the end of training camp, had been sitting with his feet propped up mid-meeting.
When Reid walked in and asked Simmons to put his feet down and, essentially, in my own words, mind you, look and act in a professional manner, as any eight-year-old would be expected to sit in a second-grade classroom, Simmons pushed back. He told Reid he had to sit like that because of the pain in his back.
Now, I was not in the room, but these sources in ESPN's story are from people who were there and witnessed the incident. It's not fabricated. First things first, I don't care who you are, how long you've been in the league, if you're a fan, player, coach, reporter, etc. You do not clap back at Andy Reid.
Especially not a guy who has played just a handful of games in two years, has been somewhat of a malcontent, and if not for his overwhelming talent, physical attributes, and draft stock, would have been cut by Kansas City the second he decided to go a-wol last year.
Reid is a Hall of Fame coach and, by all accounts, a Hall of Fame person. Every human being who's ever played or coached serious football with him has all the respect in the world for Reid. They speak glowingly about his character and his willingness to be of service to those around him.
And Patrick Mahomes is no exception. He knows what Reid is all about, and frankly, it's what Mahomes is all about. That's why Mahomes does not take a lack of respect and discipline toward Reid lightly. In fact, it was Mahomes who, during the incident, chimed in and agreed with Reid that Simmons needed to leave the room and go get treatment if his back was hurting so bad.
Well, that's all it took. A "perturbed Simmons left the room," but not the building, as he did, in fact, go get treatment for his ongoing ailment. Later in the day, it was reported that Simmons apologized to Reid and team leadership for his actions and admitted he handled the situation poorly.
A day later, Simmons missed practice due to what the Chiefs listed as back/personal, and was then placed on IR by the Chiefs' front office and medical team. It's important to note here that Chiefs head trainer Rick Burkholder addressed the media that day, explaining that they felt Simmons' rehab, which had been going well of late, had seemed to plateau over the last couple of days.
My own estimation? I think Reid and the Chiefs are reaching their breaking point on Simmons. The guy doesn't seem to want or care to play football at a high level for an extended period of time. He doesn't seem committed. But it's hard for me to wrap my head around that because, if you remember, the Chiefs drafted Simmons, albeit knowing the character concerns that surrounded him, and also knew that he was recovering from a torn patellar tendon in his knee.
That's one of the worst injuries to come back from, and Simmons attacked the rehab process and returned to action before anybody thought he could. He played in the Chiefs' first five games of the year and looked excellent. Like All-Pro potential, excellent.
But the fact that this story is coming out tells me a lot. Kansas City is one of the more tight-knit franchises in the league when it comes to what they let slip out of the building. It's been that way ever since Reid took over. So the fact that a story like this came out to a media titan like ESPN, from not one but multiple Chiefs sources, tells me that KC wants to put some pressure on Simmons globally. In hopes that it will finally flip a switch in his brain to actually give a damn.
The earliest Simmons could return is Week 11, versus the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 22. If I were you, I wouldn't hold my breath.
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