After becoming a last second scratch last week, Chiefs rookie left tackle Josh Simmons will miss his second game in a row as he deals with what head coach Andy Reid described as a “family situation” (via The Athletic’s Nate Taylor). This reporting echoes the wording used in the initial reports made last week by NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo. 
Simmons was downgraded to questionable just hours before the team’s Sunday night matchup with the Lions and didn’t end up playing. This wasn’t the first time Simmons had been given a late-week injury designation in his young NFL career. In a radio appearance yesterday, ESPN’s Nate Taylor disclosed that Simmons had also been a late addition to the injury report in Week 5, being listed as questionable due to illness.
Taylor went on to say, “I was sort of told yesterday that his blip on the injury report hours before kickoff in the stadium in Jacksonville is related to what he’s dealing with now.”
It’s hard to see the link between an illness and “personal” designation due to a family situation, but with the lack of clarity on anything related to Simmons at the moment, clear answers are not expected. It also seems like the first-round pick has yet to rejoin the team at all as he’s missed practice this week. According to Jacob Camenker of USA Today, quarterback Patrick Mahomes told the media that he’d been in communication with Simmons, which makes it sound as if he hasn’t been in the building.
Free agent addition Jaylon Moore was called on to start at left tackle in Simmons’ place on Sunday. Following his signing and Simmons’ selection in the draft, it was thought that Moore may have been brought in to serve as a bridge at left tackle in case Simmons needed development. Over his first four years in the league, Moore only started 12 games for the 49ers as a primary backup. Kansas City agreed to pay him $30MM over a two-year deal, yet his first start for the Chiefs came six weeks into the season. Moore struggled in the spot start, making the uncertainty of Simmons’ situation all the more worrisome.
At the moment, though, there doesn’t seem to be any information suggesting Simmons could return soon. Per Camenker, when head coach Andy Reid was asked if there was any timetable for Simmons’ return, Reid shook his head. This was at a press conference that Reid opened up by saying, “As far as Josh Simmons’ situation goes, I’m not going to comment on it today. (General manager Brett) Veach is handling everything there, and we’ll leave it at that.”
If that’s all we’re getting from the Chiefs’ head coach, it sounds like it might not be an easily remediable situation.
Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.