Chiefs' Josh Simmons Was Told to Leave Team Meeting by Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes
The second-year left tackle clashed with Reid in an offensive meeting a day before Kansas City put him on injured reserve, then apologized
Josh Simmons' back injury isn't the only thing that's been bothering the Chiefs. The second-year left tackle was told to leave a team meeting last week by Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes after trading words with his head coach, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport reported Sunday morning. A frustrated Simmons later apologized.
According to Garafolo and Rapoport's reporting, it happened Wednesday in the offensive meeting room. Reid asked Simmons to take his feet down, and Simmons pushed back, saying he had to sit that way because his back and hips were aching. Reid told him to go see the trainers if he was hurting. The back-and-forth kept going until Mahomes backed Reid and told Simmons to leave and get treatment. Simmons left the room but not the building, and he apologized to Reid and team leadership later that day.
#Chiefs LT Josh Simmons was told to leave a team meeting last week by Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes after trading words with Reid. A frustrated Simmons later apologized. From me and @RapSheet, as the 2025 first-rounder heads to IR to try to get healthy: https://t.co/VIWyZ9Vi2XView on X →
Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo): #Chiefs LT Josh Simmons was told to leave a team meeting last week by Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes after trading words with Reid. A frustrated Simmons later apologized. From me and @RapSheet, as the 2025 first-rounder heads to IR to try to get healthy: https://t.co/VIWyZ9Vi2X
The Chiefs placed him on injured reserve the next day, and the reporting is clear that the IR move was solely about the bulging, herniated disc in his lower back. That fits what Kansas City had been signaling all week: his rehab had stalled short of a return, and the team didn't expect him to need surgery (our earlier report).
Simmons was the last pick of the first round in 2025, and Kansas City has gotten very little out of him on the field so far. He's played in eight of a possible 22 games, between the disc issue that has sidelined him since August and a fractured wrist that ended his rookie year. A public account of him clashing with Reid, with the franchise quarterback stepping in, is a different kind of problem than an injury. The apology suggests both sides want to move past it.
On the field, nothing changes for now. Undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson stays at left tackle, and with right tackle Jaylon Moore out with a concussion, Joshua Ezeudu is set to start on the right side Sunday night in Seattle.
What to watch: Simmons has to miss at least four games, so the earliest he can come back is the Nov. 22 home game against Arizona. How the Chiefs handle his return, and whether this episode follows him into it, is the next thing to track.