Kansas City Chiefs were optimistic about offensive tackle Josh Simmons’ health last week. After not practicing with the team since mid-August, Simmons participated on a limited basis during the week leading up to the Los Angeles Chargers game. At the same time, head coach Andy Reid said that the team would gradually increase his workload and assess how he responded.

While Simmons was ultimately ruled out for the Chargers game, he was still expected to recover for the coming weeks. That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. As the Chiefs prepare to face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Josh Simmons has been placed on injured reserve.

The announcement came after Simmons didn’t practice on Wednesday due to back complications. And according to ESPN’s Nate Taylor, Chiefs head trainer Rick Burkholder revealed that Simmons was placed on IR because of a bulging disc in his lower back. Meanwhile, Burkholder also detailed Simmons’ injury timeline after the offensive tackle initially told him about discomfort.

“On August 17, Josh came to me with calf discomfort and a feeling that he couldn’t put weight on a single leg in training camp practices,” said Burkholder. “…He was evaluated by our physicians, who thankfully suspected a low back injury instead of a lower leg or knee ailment, so we obtained an MRI at St. Joe that confirmed that he had a bulging herniated disc in his lumbar spine. That disc problem was higher up than what we normally see in our offensive linemen, which complicated the case.

“We recommended a second opinion as we always do with all of our injured guys, and through his agent and Josh, they selected a spine specialist in California that we have used previously, and that is really well-known in the NFL. He went there, was evaluated, and the recommendation was to do rehabilitation, not surgery, with the intent that we would do an MRI in the future, in the near future, to see what that disc looked like. So, Josh continued to progress, and the repeat MRI a few weeks later showed that the disc had improved, so no surgery was recommended, and rehab would continue.”

The Chiefs drafted Josh Simmons in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. While he started at left tackle in his rookie year, he was ruled out for multiple weeks due to personal reasons. The same season, he also suffered a dislocation and fracture in his wrist ahead of the Week 13 matchup before the team placed him on IR.

While he was expected to take on a major role during the 2026 season, Simmons has been away from action since training camp due to back issues. Then, last month, Coach Reid confirmed that Simmons was recovering from a bulging disc in his lower back, which had affected the strength in his leg.

Reid also noted that the offensive tackle was working at the team’s facility and making progress, but acknowledged that back injuries can be unpredictable. And now that he has been placed on IR, the earliest Josh Simmons could return is during the Chiefs’ Week 11 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.

“It was decided and agreed upon by everybody, his people, his agent, and him, myself, Andy (Reid), (Brett) Veach, that he should be placed on IR to give him more time to return to full function,” Burkholder added. “He’ll continue with the rehab process with the goal of returning to play at the high level that he achieved in the past.

“I give a lot of credit to Josh, my docs, my physicians, and my staff. I just give him a ton of credit for navigating through this injury to the point where surgery is not recommended, and that he just needs more time to return to full function. So, I hope that sheds some light on the situation, and I appreciate you guys always.”

This marks the second straight season that Josh Simmons has been placed on IR. Kansas City will face the reigning Super Bowl champions next week. But for now, Simmons’ potential return for the rest of the season remains uncertain.