The absence of left tackle Josh Simmons continues to haunt the Kansas City Chiefs. As the rest of the squad geared up for practice on Friday, October 17, the only missing piece continued to be the rookie offensive lineman. Head coach Andy Reid has been navigating the questions around him very carefully, offering very little information, and it looks like that’s going to continue to be the case.

Speaking to the reporters, coach Reid didn’t go in-depth with explanations.

“Really, the only one who didn’t practice today was Josh. Still excused with the family situation.” 

Simmons was marked as questionable just hours before the Week 6 matchup against the Detroit Lions. He was later designated as ‘out’ and has since been back home in California. Coach Reid had also offered very little explanation on his Wednesday presser, noting, “As far as Josh Simmons’ situation goes, I’m not going to comment on it today. [Brett] Veach is handling everything there. And we’ll leave it at that.”

The Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had noted he had been talking to Simmons. But offered little information when asked about it. From his words, however, it seemed like Simmons was dealing with something serious.

As Mahomes had put it, “I’ll keep conversations kind of between us. But I’m always praying for him. I’m praying for all my teammates, so I’m always praying for him. I’ll just keep everything else kind of private to us.”

Even Chiefs’ insiders do not have any information regarding Simmons’ absence, and there is no given timeline for his return to the team. But in the midst of all this, Simmons has done something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by anyone.

Josh Simmons’ major off field move

While questions continue to swirl around Josh Simmons’ absence, he hasn’t just disappeared from his team, but also from the internet. Simmons has notably deactivated all his social media accounts and gone radio silent. But what’s going on?

Ahead of the Chiefs’ Week 5 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Simmons landed on the IR with an “illness.” As per Chiefs insider Nate Taylor, that was also related to the same “personal matter” that Simmons is dealing with now. As Taylor further added to the worry recently:

“Based on what I learned… I almost came away more impressed with how he’s performed over the last couple weeks before any of this became a greater situation… This is extremely serious and if it gets resolved… a month from now, he could be back on the field.”

For now, it looks like the Chiefs will have to continue without their rookie first-rounder. The Chiefs are preparing to go up against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. Beyond that, we will continue to wait for more updates on Josh Simmons and his eventual return to the Chiefs.