Additional Light Shed on Simmons Timeline, Past and Future

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Chiefs pulled away in the second half to secure an impressive Monday night win over the Commanders. But their prior Monday night game actually began the Josh Simmons timeline.

According to SI insider Albert Breer, the deeply personal family issues with which the rookie is currently navigating first surfaced just before the Oct. 6 Monday night loss in Jacksonville. Shortly before kickoff in that game and after pregame warmups, the Chiefs announced that Simmons had been added to the injury report as questionable with an illness.

A 6-5, 310-pound rookie, Simmons wound up starting and playing the full game, a 31-28 loss to the Jaguars. He didn’t appear on the team’s injury report the following week until five hours prior to kickoff in the Sunday night victory over Detroit on Oct. 12.

That’s when the Chiefs announced Simmons – the final choice in the first round of April’s draft — as questionable for personal reasons. Kansas City ruled him out before kickoff, and Jaylon Moore has started each of the last three games, all Chiefs wins.

Money well spent

“For now,” Breer wrote Tuesday, “the first thing to know is the two-year, $30 million deal the Chiefs gave Jaylon Moore in the offseason, even if he’s not the starting left tackle they paid him to be, is money well spent.

“The Chiefs have depth at those positions that they didn’t before. Last year, a black hole at left tackle forced the team to move Joe Thuney there, setting off a cascade that blew up in the team’s Super Bowl loss. They’ll likely have no such problem this year.”

Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt addressed the Simmons situation prior to Monday’s win over the Commanders.

“It’s not something I can go into but it is a private family matter,” Hunt said Monday, noting he has a high level of confidence Simmons will return. “And we’ve had good communication with him, and there’s an understanding by both parties where he is. And we’re hopeful to have him back with the team sometime in the future.”

A good sign

Breer also noted that if Brett Veach and Andy Reid expected a long-term absence, they had the option to place the rookie on a reserve list, shelving him for at least four games. But the team is not believed to be considering that choice.

While Moore played well his first two starts in place of Simmons, the veteran tackle struggled against the Commanders. Reid said after Monday’s game that Washington has an elite defensive front. Edge rusher Jacob Martin sacked Patrick Mahomes twice, one allowed by Moore.

“They’re better with the wildly talented Simmons in there,” Breer wrote. “What I know is that the issue first arose just before the Jaguars game. Simmons ended up playing in that matchup, then left right before the Lions game. The cited family aspect of his absence is real, and that was a part of the background that teams had to work through when he was coming out.”

The Chiefs (5-3) have to travel to Buffalo (5-2) on a short week, then get a midseason bye.

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