The Kansas City Chiefs are riding a two-game win streak and playing their best football of the NFL season heading into their Week 8 matchup on “Monday Night Football” against the Washington Commanders.
However, one of the ongoing storylines has centered around first-round pick and star offensive tackle Josh Simmons, who has been away from the team for roughly two weeks while attending to personal matters off the field.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has deflected most questions regarding the situation, noting that general manager Brett Veach is handling it. But on Thursday, Reid opened up slightly about Simmons’ absence, emphasizing that “everything is positive.”
“There’s communication, and everything is positive,” Reid said Thursday. “It’s not a negative situation, so he’s taking care of family. He’s just taking care of business. That’s the main thing. When you deal with this, that’s what you do… He’s been very good about communicating.”
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On Friday evening, however, according to ESPN’s Nate Taylor, Simmons is expected to miss at least a few more weeks before making his anticipated return, which will likely occur in early November during the team’s bye week.
“A logical time for Simmons to return to the Chiefs could be in early November during the team’s bye week,” Taylor wrote.
Simmons, selected 32nd overall, quickly earned his stripes and became the Chiefs’ starting left tackle. Since his absence, Kansas City has turned to offseason acquisition Jaylon Moore, who signed a two-year, $30 million deal and was originally expected to be the Day 1 starter. However, Simmons’ strong play early in the season shifted those plans.
That said, Moore has performed exceptionally well over the last two weeks and is expected to remain one of the two starting tackles alongside Jawaan Taylor moving forward.
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