Slimmed-down Chiefs tackle Josh Simmons reflects on rookie season, one year later
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Simmons tore his patellar tendon in his final Ohio State season before joining the Chiefs.
- Simmons was the Chiefs' opening-day left tackle and finished his rookie year with eight.
- Simmons reduced his weight to about 285–290 pounds and aims to reach 300 by season.
This time last year, Josh Simmons was in a very different place.
Simmons had fallen to the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL Draft after tearing his patellar tendon during his final season at Ohio State. But ahead of schedule in his rehab, he was able to do everything asked of him during the team’s mandatory minicamp.
As training camp began in 2025, Simmons appeared healthy, and by the time it was over, there was little doubt he would be the Chiefs’ opening-day starter at left tackle.
Simmons looked the part during the first five games of the season before taking a leave of absence to attend to a family situation in his home state of California. After the Chiefs’ mandatory minicamp practice Tuesday, Simmons acknowledged he missed actual football reps while he was away from the team last year.
“Nothing can replicate actual in-game stuff, so I just tried to stay in the playbook as much as I can,” he said. “That way when I came back I was ready.”
Simmons played just three games upon his return before dislocating and fracturing his wrist during Kansas City’s Thanksgiving loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Simmons reflected this week on the year that was, noting that he felt he lacked consistency.
“I wasn’t as consistent as I wanted to be,” he said. “I think a lot of people can see that, so that’s probably just something I’m hammering right now.”
Through film work and practice repetitions, Simmons says he’s striving to make his sets look the same from play to play — whether it be his technique, hand placement or another part of his process. A helpful difference this year is that with injury rehab behind him, he can spend more offseason time in the film and weight rooms.
During what became an eight-game rookie season, the now-second-year player learned firsthand that opposing defensive ends in the NFL are different from the ones he saw in college.
As he described it, Simmons wants to be capable of guarding players such as Nik Bonitto and Khalil Mack in a game of hoops — athletic enough to move with them while remaining disciplined enough to mirror their tells.
“I would say being able to go play basketball one-on-one with the top D-ends in the world on every Sunday and then during the week,” Simmons said. “They know patterns from an offensive line more than you do, so you definitely gotta never underestimate anybody. That’s probably the first thing I’ll tell you.”
Sixteen months ago, at the NFL Scouting Combine, Simmons weighed in at 317 pounds. Tuesday’s mandatory Chiefs session presented a slimmed-down version of the 23-year-old.
Asked about his visible weight loss, Simmons told reporters he’s currently between 285 and 290 pounds, with hopes of getting back to 300 by the time the season begins. His preparedness by then will be critical, as he’s tasked with protecting star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is coming off his own serious knee injury.
“He’s a dog,” Simmons said of Mahomes. “That’s all I’m saying — he’s a dog. He’s going to be ready. He’s going to handle it.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 3:49 PM.
