Josh Simmons breaks silence and shares thoughts on his absence from the Chiefs
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Josh Simmons thanked Chiefs and fans, cited personal reasons for absence.
- Simmons stayed engaged with team, practiced footwork and reviewed playbook.
- He returned for Week 11, played all snaps, drew mixed grades and two penalties.
Before he took questions from reporters for the first time since returning to the Chiefs, left tackle Josh Simmons thanked the organization and fans for patience while he missed four games over five weeks for personal reasons.
“Thanks for having my six,” Simmons said Wednesday. “(It) showed how much love this team and city has for me. I can’t wait to give it back to them.”
A rookie first-round NFL Draft pick earlier this year, Simmons returned to the lineup for last week’s 22-19 loss at the Denver Broncos. He had started the Chiefs’ first five games and was putting together a solid rookie season when he left the team on the eve of its Week 6 game against the Detroit Lions.
The Chiefs weren’t specific about his departure then, and Simmons didn’t provide any insight into the reason for his absence. In the first days Simmons was gone, Chiefs coach Andy Reid called it a “family situation.”
“I kind of want to keep that in house, all due respect,” Simmons said Wednesday when asked if he’d elaborate on his missed time. “I want to keep that, you know, inside.”
Simmons said he remained in contact with the team while he was away, worked on his footwork “and had access to gyms.”
“I was ready to play,” Simmons said. “I had access to my playbook and stuff like that, so I was able to stay proactive, going over notes.”
Simmons also had some muscle memory about missing time: Last season, at Ohio State, Simmons suffered a knee injury in the Buckeyes’ sixth game and missed the rest of the year.
Being away from football is not where he wanted to be, back then or this season.
“Being away from the game — I missed a chunk of my college season — so being away from the game again, I was itching to get back,” he said.
In last weekend’s game at Denver, Simmons played all 70 snaps and mostly went against one of the NFL’s top defensive ends in Nick Bonitto, who finished with one quarterback hit and no sacks.
“(Bonitto) is an extremely gifted player, so going against him was a fair welcome back,” Simmons said.
Simmons picked up two accepted penalties and Reid gave him a passing grade. According to Pro Football Focus analysis, he finished slightly below his season average and fell in the middle of KC’s line grades, behind Trey Smith and Creed Humphrey and ahead of Kingsley Suamataia and Jawaan Taylor.
“I thought he did a nice job,” Reid said. “He’s got to clean up a couple of things, the penalties. But his effort and attitude and everything was great. He was able to keep everything focused back to the football part of it.
“He had to take care of business, and he took care of it.”
Asked if he’ll be with the Chiefs for the rest of the season, Simmons was emphatic.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I will be here for the rest of the season.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 2:59 PM.