Patrick Mahomes reportedly demanded his teammate Josh Simmons leave a Kansas City Chiefs team meeting after a furious back-and-forth with head coach Andy Reid.
Left tackle Simmons, 23, has barely played since being drafted in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Chiefs to protect Mahomes’ blind side.
He has played just eight games in the last two seasons, missing the first part of the season with an ongoing back injury which saw him placed on injured reserve on Wednesday.
According to ESPN, he was told to leave an offensive meeting the previous day after sitting with his feet up in the meeting room and being confronted by Reid.
The veteran head coach reportedly asked Simmons to put his feet down, only for Simmons to push back and claim he needed to sit that way due to pain in his back and hips.
Reid responded by telling Simmons to get treatment from athletic trainers if that was the case, but the back-and-forth continued before Mahomes backed up Reid and told his teammate to leave for treatment after disrupting the meeting.
Josh Simmons was reportedly asked to leave a team meeting the day before being placed on IR
Andy Reid reportedly called out Simmons for sitting with his feet up before a back-and-forth
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes reportedly stepped in and backed up Reid after the disruption
Simmons left the room but stayed at the facility and later apologized to Reid, Mahomes and other team leaders, it is claimed.
Simmons was listed on the injury report as missing practice Wednesday for ‘back/not injury related – personal’ then placed on injured reserve due to a bulging, herniated disk in his lower back on Thursday.
Head trainer Rick Burkholder explained that decision, revealing the team ordered an MRI scan revealing his injury after reporting feeling discomfort in his left calf on August 17.
‘That disk problem was higher up than what we normally see in most of our offensive linemen, which complicated the case,’ Burkholder said of Simmons.
‘The repeat MRI, a few weeks later, showed that the disk had improved, so no surgery was recommended. Josh worked his tail off. He worked diligently with my staff every day. However, we feel he has plateaued in the rehab process. He’s just not there yet.’
Burkholder said ‘everybody’ agreed to place Simmons on IR, meaning he will miss the next four games and the earliest he can return is November 22 at home to the Arizona Cardinals.
‘I give a lot of credit to Josh, my physicians and my staff for navigating through this injury to the point where surgery is not recommended,’ Burkholder added. ‘He just needs more time to return to full function.’
Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy added: ‘His job is to make sure that he’s physically getting himself ready for what’s next. He’s just got to focus one day at a time.’
Kahlil Benson has played left tackle for the Chiefs so far this season, with the undrafted rookie set to stay in that role while Joshua Ezeudu will replace starting right tackle Jaylon Moore on Sunday Night Football as he is ruled out due to a concussion.
