The Kansas City Chiefs made a significant decision on Thursday regarding their starting offensive line.
Chiefs head trainer Rick Burkholder spoke with reporters on Thursday, saying Josh Simmons still doesn't need surgery as part of his rehab and recovery from a bulging, herniated disc. However, due to the nature of the injury, his rehab plateaued, leading to his designation to miss practice yesterday for back/personal reasons.
"Josh (Simmons) worked his tail off and was diligent every day. However, we feel he's plateaued in the rehab process. He's just not there yet." Burkholder said, "It was (MRI on bulging disc) higher up than what we see in most of our offensive linemen."
We have placed T Josh Simmons on Reserve/Injured.
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 22, 2026
Simmons hasn't been active
this season because of his back issue, and undrafted rookie free agent Kahlil Benson has been starting in his place. Simmons can return as early as Week 11, against the Arizona Cardinals on November 22.
The Chiefs have yet to play their originally planned starting lineup together this season, leaving open the possibility that the front office could be making roster moves before the trade deadline.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Kansas City Chiefs make an official decision regarding OL Josh Simmons
