Chiefs place left tackle Josh Simmons on injured reserve with a bulging disk in his lower back

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs placed Josh Simmons on injured reserve because of a bulging disk in his lower back Thursday, guaranteeing their starting left tackle will be out at least four more weeks after having already missed the first five games of the season.

Undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson will continue to protect the blind side of Patrick Mahomes. On the right side, Jaylon Moore remains in the concussion protocol, which means Joshua Ezeudu is expected to start at that tackle position on Sunday night in Seattle.

The Chiefs chose Simmons in the first round of the 2025 draft in the hopes that he could be their franchise left tackle. He was coming off a serious knee injury at Ohio State, but the Chiefs believed he would be able to make a full recovery in time to play as a rookie.

His knee has never been a problem. But other factors have kept him off the field.

Simmons started the first five games last season before missing time to deal with personal matters. He returned to start in three more games before a fractured and dislocated hand landed him on IR for the remainder of the season.

He showed up to training camp in late July feeling good, though, and Simmons hoped his injury issues were behind him. But on Aug. 17, he reported feeling some discomfort in his calf, and the Chiefs' training staff determined it was stemming from his back.

Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder obtained an MRI exam that confirmed the herniated and bulging disk, which was “higher up than we normally see in our offensive linemen, which complicated the case.”

The Chiefs recommended a second opinion, and a back specialist in California believed that Simmons would be able to overcome the injury with rehabilitation rather than surgery.

That is why the Chiefs had not put Simmons on injured reserve until Thursday.

“Josh worked his tail off. He worked diligently with my staff every day, and he improved to the point where he returned to practice in a limited capacity last week,” Burkholder said. “However we feel he plateaued in the recovery process. ... He's just not there yet.”

After discussing the situation with Simmons, his family and representatives, the decision was made to place him on IR.

“It was decided and agreed upon by everybody,” Burkholder said, adding that surgery still is not in the forecast.

Benson has surpassed all expectations at left tackle after the former Indiana offensive lineman stepped into role. And when pressed into duty against the Chargers last Sunday, Ezeudu faired well in Moore's place on the right side the rest of the way.

Ezeudu was a third-round pick of the Giants in the 2022 draft. The Chiefs acquired him for a seventh-round pick in August.

“He's played before,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, “and when we brought him in, we knew that, and we knew he was a good player. So now, potentially, there's an opportunity to be in there and play, and I thought he did a nice job when he was in there this past weekend. So yeah, I think everybody around him has got confidence in him, too.”

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