Los Angeles Rams v Kansas City Chiefs
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After living in the limbo of Josh Simmons' will-he-or-won't-he-play status for nearly a half season, the Kansas City Chiefs have decided to bring some clarity to the picture. The Chiefs are officially placing Simmons on injured reserve with a back injury as Week 7 approaches.
Simmons has been out with a bulging disc problem in his back since August 18, near the very end of the team's training camp schedule in St. Joseph. Simmons went on to miss the final two preseason exhibitions in the hope of being ready for the Chiefs' season-opener versus the Denver Broncos.
From there, however, Simmons' situation remained far murkier than expected. What Andy Reid originally seemed to shrug off as a minor preseason concern turned into a lingering injury that kept him from making any appearances before the team's scheduled bye in Week 5. In that time, Reid explained that Simmons was seeking another opinion about the right approach to recovery.
Coming out of the bye, Reid then explained that the Chiefs were going to need to ease Simmons back into practice—and for a while, he did. Simmons was a limited participant in practice before Week 6's win over the L.A. Chargers, which offered some optimism that the team's former first-round choice (2025) might be ready to take back over on the left side of the offensive front. Alas, that's not the case
Simmons already missed practice on Wednesday, and the Chiefs added a designation to the injury report: "NIR". That means "non-injury related" even as Simmons' entry also still pointed to a back problem. But "Personal" was the reason given for the NIR status, which only further muddies the waters.
What it means for Simmons to land on IR
The Chiefs are in the midst of preparing for a game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football, and they're doing so without their right tackle. Jaylon Moore was taken out of the Chiefs' win over the Chargers with a head injury and was later placed in the team's concussion protocol. He wasn't back at practice to start the week and it's likely that the Chiefs could go into Sunday's game without either of their starters.
What this means for the position of left tackle is that Kahlil Benson can settle in for good. The undrafted rookie has already blossomed at the position, turning in a solid performance after having never played the left side in college. Benson ascended the depth chart from rookie tryout in May to Week 1 starter in September. Now the joh is his for the foreseeable future.
As for what this means beyond Week 7 is anyone's guess, but the earliest Simmons could return is Week 11, a home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Andy Reid emphasized the unpredictable nature of back injuries while trying to explain things to reporters over the last few weeks. Perhaps an IR stint gives him a chance to seek long-term recovery instead of trying to push things to make it back week to week—assuming that's all that's wrong.