Kansas City left tackle Josh Simmons is going to be placed on injured reserve with the back injury that has kept him sidelined all season.
Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder made the announcement with a prepared statement on Thursday.
“Josh worked his tail off,” Burkholder said. “He worked diligently with my staff every day and has improved to the point where he returned to practice in a limited capacity last week. However, we feel that he’s plateaued in the rehab process as he’s trying to get to the final steps of recovery with return to competition, and he’s just not there yet.”
Simmons is not currently slated for surgery, with the IR stint designed to give him more time to rehab and get back to his top performance level.
Burkholder explained that Simmons first reported discomfort in his calf on Aug. 17, which the team’s medical staff then determined was actually being caused by an issue in his lower back. The discomfort occurred in the same leg that had suffered a torn patellar tendon in 2024 while at Ohio State. An MRI confirmed that was the case, with Simmons diagnosed with a bulging disc in his lower back. But the disc was higher than is usually seen in offensive linemen, which complicated the process.
After rehabbing since then, Simmons is now at the point where he still needs more time. So, everyone was in agreement that the left tackle could use some time on IR.
“He’ll continue with the rehab process with the goal of returning to play at the high level that he achieved in the past,” Burkholder said.
Simmons, the No. 32 overall pick of the 2025 draft, has appeared in eight games so far in his career.
Undrafted rookie Kahliil Benson has started all five games this season at left tackle for the Chiefs so far in 2026.