Kansas City Chiefs rookie Josh Simmons missed his second straight game on Sunday due to what the Chiefs have alternately termed a “personal” situation and a “family matter.” The Chiefs official injury report issued prior to Sunday’s 31-0 win against the Las Vegas Raiders listed the reason for the offensive lineman’s absence as “non-injury related (personal).”
Othwerwise, no details have been forthcoming from the team or any other official source on the reasons for the 22-year-old’s failure to rejoin the Chiefs after departing in sudden fashion prior to the October 12 game against the Detroit Lions.
While the Chiefs’s desire to maintain Simmons’ privacy appears to be the primary reason for the lack of explanation, Kansas City fans and media can only worry about what the situation means for the Chiefs’ offensive line charged with protecting franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes, especially after a back injury suffered Sunday by guard Trey Smith.
Reid Addresses Simmons Situation Again Monday
Smith received a record setting $94 million, four-year contract extension before the season, and Simmons was the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick this year. Now both are missing for an indefinite period of time.
On Monday, Chiefs coach Andy Reid opened his regular remarks to the media by addressing Simmons’ absence, but he revealed little that was new, saying instead that the team would “move on.”
“As far as Josh goes, I don’t have any updates for you. Veach is handling everything there,” Reid said, referring to Kansas City general manager Brett Veach. “And so we just, you know, move on with that.”
Veach ‘Handling’ of Simmons Remains Unclear
What Reid meant by his statement that Veach was “handling everything” with regard to the Simmons situation was not made clear.
But the 13-year Chiefs coach could have been referring to the decision â which the Chiefs will need to make, at some point â as to whether or not to place Simmons on the NFL’s NFI (Non-Football Injury) list.
Classifying Simmons as an NFI case would rule the former Ohio State star out for the subsequent four games following his addition to the list. The benefit would be that a player on the NFI list may be replaced on a team’s 53-man active roster, “which Kansas City could use to elevate tackle Chukwuebuka Godrick from the practice squad â or sign a free agent,” according to Kansas City Star Chiefs beat writer Pete Sweeney.
By not adding Simmons to the NFI list, the Chiefs effectively played the Raiders game with a 52-man roster, and they will continue to do so until his name is placed on the list, or Simmons comes back to the team.
The fact that Simmons was not added to the NFI list prior to the Raiders game was seen by some observers as a positive indication that the Chiefs expect Simmons to rejoin the squad soon, or at least earlier that the four weeks more he would be forced to sit out if he goes on the NFI list.
“Obviously, this is a fluid situation and things can change. But if the team expected him to miss an extended period of time, it would have likely made the move today,” wrote Outkick reporter Bobby Burack, who has covered the Simmons issue for that site, on Sunday afternoon. “As of this post, thatâs a good sign.”
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