KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs left tackle Josh Simmons, the 2025 first-round pick, has not practiced with his teammates since Aug. 17, when he sustained a lower back injury. After six weeks without details on the severity of the injury, coach Andy Reid revealed Wednesday that Simmons is recovering from a bulging disk.
"It's kind of hindered the strength of his leg, but he's working through it," Reid said of Simmons. "He's working through it. He's here every day, grinding away. We didn't have to make any roster moves or have to put him on [injured reserve]. It's all worked out."
Simmons didn't participate in Wednesday's practice, and he's not expected to play Sunday when the Chiefs face the Las Vegas Raiders. Reid, though, acknowledged that the Chiefs believe Simmons will avoid needed surgery to repair his lower back.
"The positive is he's making progress and getting stronger, which is important," Reid said. "We all know backs can be a little tricky. You never know [the return-to-play timeline] with these things. The exams that he's had [have shown] he's making progress, which is the biggest positive of everything.
"I think we're heading in the right direction here. Knock on wood, we're going to be in a good place here with [more] time."
Since selecting Simmons in the draft, the Chiefs have played more games without him (12) than with him (eight).
He missed a four-game stretch last season when he left the Chiefs hours before kickoff against the Detroit Lions to fly back to his hometown of San Diego for what the team called a "family situation." Simmons returned and played well, but he sustained a season-ending injury when he dislocated and fractured his left wrist in a loss on Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys. The injury occurred when he collided with former running back Kareem Hunt, who was attempting a chip-block on defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
This season, the Chiefs have had Kahlil Benson, an undrafted rookie from Indiana, start in Simmons' absence. Although the Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins this past Sunday to move to 3-0, Benson struggled at times in one-on-one matchups against defensive ends Josh Uche and Chop Robinson. The Dolphins hit Mahomes a season-high five times.
The Chiefs are hopeful that Simmons can return to the lineup after their bye week to play Oct. 18 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
When on the field last season, Simmons allowed a pressure rate of just 6.6%, the third-lowest mark among left tackles and the second lowest by a rookie left tackle since 2018 (minimum 150 pass blocks), according to Next Gen Stats.
"You put in the work every single day and you want to get back and be back on that field," Mahomes said of Simmons. "I've been seeing him and he's putting in the work, whatever it takes to get on the field as quickly as possible. Hopefully that's a little quicker rather than later.
"I'm excited for him, man. He's competing and he's doing whatever he can to be back out there."