The Kansas City Chiefs spent their offseason reshaping an offensive line that struggled to protect Patrick Mahomes in 2024, using a first-round pick on Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons to help anchor the unit long term. After Mahomes took a career-high 36 sacks in the regular season and six in the Super Bowl, the front office wasted no time making changes to protect their prized franchise quarterback.
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Could Chiefs Rookie Josh Simmons Return Sooner Than Expected? Andy Reid Weighs In
Simmons brings high upside, but he also comes with injury questions. The Ohio State product suffered a torn patellar tendon last October versus Oregon, a setback that cut short his final college season. Despite the injury, Simmons declared for the 2025 NFL Draft and was selected No. 32 overall by the Chiefs.
Simmons’ progress has been a major storyline this spring, especially with the team hoping he can contribute early. On May 29, head coach Andy Reid provided a significant update on Simmons’ recovery.
Reid addressed Simmons’ status during a press conference following the team’s OTA session. While the rookie has not yet participated in full team drills, Reid noted that Simmons is progressing faster than originally expected.
“He’s actually further ahead than I thought he was.” – head coach Andy Reid on OL Josh Simmons
The #Chiefs‘ HC adds that he’s optimistic for some team work before the end of Phase 3.
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) May 29, 2025
“He’s one that didn’t work this week, but he’s been doing everything at that point,” Reid said. “He’s actually further ahead than I thought he was.”
That news comes as a welcome development for Kansas City. The original plan was to hold Simmons out of the team portion of Phase Three of the offseason program. However, his performance during earlier phases of the team’s conditioning and individual work has been encouraging.
“We might actually be able to get — originally we weren’t going to have him in the Phase Three part at all, other than the individual stuff,” Reid explained. “So we’ve kept him out of the team stuff with that. But he did all Phase Two. He’s done a good job of what we say.”
The Chiefs are understandably being cautious with their first-round pick. Protecting Mahomes remains the top priority for the franchise, and a fully healthy Simmons could eventually become a key piece of that effort. With veteran Moore in place, the team does not need to rush Simmons into action before he is ready.
“We just got to get him in with the defense against him,” Reid added, signaling that the next step will be testing Simmons in live reps when the time is right.
For now, the Chiefs will continue to manage Simmons’ workload carefully. But based on Reid’s comments, Kansas City’s rookie tackle could be back in the mix sooner than many expected when the offseason began.