An ESPN report dropped like a bombshell this Sunday morning, barely 12 hours before our Seattle Seahawks are set to face off against the Kansas City Chiefs on “Sunday Night Football.” This isn’t just any report either, it’s about Chiefs left tackle Josh Simmons, the guy who was their 2025 first-round pick and just got put on the Reserve/Injured list days ago for a back injury. According to ESPN’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport, things went down big time last Wednesday when Simmons was straight up told to leave a team meeting by none other than head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes himself.
What Went Down Behind Closed Doors
So, here’s the wild part: during a meeting with offensive personnel, Simmons was apparently sitting there with his feet up. Reid, being the coach he is, asked him to put his feet down. Simple enough, right? Nope. Simmons “pushed back,” claiming back and hip aches as his defense. This exchange, according to the report, “disrupted” the whole meeting. It got so bad that both Reid and Mahomes had to step in and direct Simmons to leave, telling him to go get treatment for the pain he was experiencing. Can you imagine that scene? Your franchise quarterback and head coach telling a former first-round pick to bounce? That’s some serious drama unfolding in Kansas City, especially right before they play our boys.
The Fallout and the IR Mystery
Simmons, to his credit, reportedly “apologized to Reid and team leadership,” acknowledging he “could have handled it better.” But the damage was done. After that Wednesday incident, he didn’t even participate in practice, with the team initially citing “personal reasons.” Then, Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance Rick Burkholder shed some light, saying Simmons spent Wednesday talking with his representation about “next steps.” Burkholder was quoted explaining, “After discussion with Josh yesterday, we gave him some time to talk with his family and representatives to investigate next steps as he goes through this process, and that’s why he was listed as both personal and with the back injury… he took the day off to get with his people.” He also added, “It was decided and agreed upon by everybody , his people, his agent, him, myself, Andy, and Veach , that he should be placed on IR to give him more time to return to full function. He’ll continue with the rehab process with the goal of returning to play at the high level that he achieved in the past.” Now, last week, Reid was describing Simmons’ return as a “ramp-up” period, and then suddenly, after this meeting drama, he’s shut down and on IR. Is it really just a coincidence that his “rehabilitation plateaued” the very day he had a disruptive back-and-forth with his head coach and star quarterback? The timing is incredibly suspect.
Why This Matters and What it Means for the Chiefs
ESPN says “multiple sources” who witnessed this whole interaction spilled the beans, which is incredibly rare for the usually tight-lipped Chiefs organization. Think about that: info like this doesn’t just “leak” from Kansas City. It feels intentional, like someone wants Chiefs Kingdom to have a seriously “bad taste in their mouths” about Simmons, rather than just letting the “hard-to-navigate back injury” excuse stand. This whole saga isn’t doing Simmons any favors, both for his availability this season or his future as the franchise’s left tackle. Before this report, it was easy to just chalk his issues up to fragility, a known risk when they drafted him. But now? Now, fans aren’t just questioning his health, they’re going to be questioning his character. And all this is breaking just hours before our Hawks kick off “Sunday Night Football” against them. You know our guys are dialed in, but it’s interesting to see this kind of drama unfold for our opponent. Let’s see if this internal turmoil has any effect on the field tonight in what’s going to be a huge game!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Arrowhead Pride.
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