Josh Simmons’ rehabilitation has “plateaued,” and he’s been placed in the injured reserve list.

The Chiefs shared the news about their second-year left tackle on Wednesday.

“Josh worked his tail off,” Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said. “He worked diligently with my staff every day and has improved to point where he could return to practice in a limited capacity last week.

“However, we feel like he’s plateaued in the rehab process as he’s trying to get to the final steps of recovery with the return to competition. He’s just not there yet.

“After discussion with Josh (Wednesday), we gave him some time to talk with his family and his representatives to investigate next steps as he goes through this process.”

Burkholder said Simmons missed Wednesday’s practice to discuss the developments, and that’s why he was listed on the injury report as being out with a back injury and for personal reasons.

“It was decided and agreed upon by everybody — his people, his agent, him, myself, (Chiefs head coach) Andy (Reid), (general manager Brett) Veach — that he should be placed on IR to give him more time to return to full function.”

That means Simmons will miss at least the next four games.

Simmons, the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick in 2025, experienced a bulging, herniated disk in training camp and hasn’t appeared in a game yet this season.

Undrafted free agent Khalil Benson has stepped in to Simmons’ role. The Chiefs could be without their other starting tackle, Jaylon Moore, for Sunday night’s game at the Seattle Seahawks. Moore suffered a concussion in last week’s game against the LA Chargers.

Joshua Ezeude finished the game at right tackle.

This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 12:25 PM with the headline "Chiefs provide update on Josh Simmons. Here’s why he won’t be back anytime soon."