Josh Simmons, the Chiefs’ left tackle, has officially landed on the Reserve/Injured list, and man, this is a gut punch for the O-line. The news dropped on Thursday after a Wednesday injury report showed Simmons didn’t practice with both “back” and “personal” designations, immediately getting everyone in Chiefs Kingdom wondering what was up. Turns out, his rehab for that nagging back injury has simply “plateaued.”
The Long Road Back Just Got Longer
Chiefs Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance Rick Burkholder laid out the whole timeline, and it really paints a picture of how complicated this has been. It all started back on August 17th during training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri. Simmons first came in complaining about calf discomfort, saying he couldn’t post on a single leg. What’s crazy is this was the same leg he had knee surgery on back in 2024 when he was playing for Ohio State, where he tore his patellar tendon and ended his season. Thankfully, the team physicians looked past the calf and suspected a low-back injury instead.
An MRI in St. Joe confirmed it: a bulging, herniated disc in his lumbar spine. Burkholder even pointed out that this disc problem was “higher up than what we normally see in our offensive linemen, which complicated the case.” The team did what they always do, recommending a second opinion. Simmons and his agent picked a spine specialist in California who’s apparently well-known in the NFL and has worked with the Chiefs before. The recommendation? Rehabilitation, not surgery, with another MRI planned to check on the disc’s progress. And it worked, for a bit. A few weeks later, that repeat MRI showed the disc had improved, meaning surgery was off the table and rehab continued. Head coach Andy Reid even said Simmons was in a “ramp-up” period, and he was actually practicing in a limited capacity just last week! We thought he was almost there.
“He’s Just Not There Yet”
That “ramp-up” period is now a full stop. Burkholder explained that while Josh “worked his tail off” and was diligent with the staff, he’s “plateaued in the rehab process.” He just can’t get to those “final steps of recovery with return to competition.” Burkholder was crystal clear, emphasizing, “He’s just not there yet.” Think about it: Simmons’ job is to wrestle the league’s biggest, strongest athletes, guys over 250 pounds, sometimes up to 80 times a game. His back simply isn’t ready for that kind of brutal, high-impact work this week, and it won’t be ready for “the next few weeks either.” After a discussion with Simmons on Wednesday, they gave him time to talk with his family and reps to figure out next steps, which is why he showed up with both “personal” and “back” injury designations.
This is a real blow for Simmons and the Chiefs’ offensive line. Losing a starting left tackle for multiple weeks, especially when he was *just* starting to get back on the field, is never easy. The team’s gotta figure out how to protect their guys now without him. We’ll be watching closely to see what those “next steps” look like and when we can expect Simmons back battling in the trenches.
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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