KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday placed rookie left tackle Josh Simmons on injured reserve with a wrist injury.
Simmons fractured and dislocated his left wrist on Thanksgiving against the Cowboys and recently had surgery. Simmons will miss at least the next four games, and the Chiefs have just five remaining in the regular season.
“The kid loves to play football,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s upbeat. The surgery went well, which was a real positive. And he feels good about that and it’s just a matter of coming back. He did a great job with his knee coming back. He’s a worker. Whatever he can do to rehab it he’s going to do. That’s just how he rolls.”
Simmons started the first five games then missed the next four while dealing with a family issue. He returned in a loss at Denver and a win against Indianapolis before getting injured last week in Dallas.
Simmons missed most of last season at Ohio State with a knee injury but recovered in time to participate in the Chiefs’ offseason workouts and training camp and won the starting left tackle job early on.
The Chiefs had originally signed veteran tackle Jaylon Moore to be the starter, but after drafting Simmons the left tackle job was quickly his to lose. After Simmons left the team, Moore stepped in and played admirably as the starting left tackle. But with the Chiefs’ offensive line banged up, Moore could start at right tackle as Jawaan Taylor might not play with a triceps injury Sunday against the Texans. That puts backup Wanya Morris at left tackle protecting Patrick Mahomes’ blind side. Right guard Trey Smith could also be out with an ankle injury, making the team potentially down three starters on the offensive line.
“For us, whoever is going to be in the game they’re going to be ready to roll,” said Chiefs center Creed Humphrey. “For me, it’s making sure the communication is good and everybody’s on the same page and ready to play.”
At 6-6 the Chiefs are in a battle for a playoff spot, as are the 7-5 Texans. And whoever loses Sunday would face a nearly impossible task to make the postseason.
“More than anything we just have to execute at a higher level,” Mahomes said. “We’ve done a lot of good things but at the same time there’s been a lot of mistakes we haven’t been able to overcome. And we have to be better in those bigger moments and not make those mistakes and at the end of the day go prove it. You got to prove it on gameday and that’s something I believe we can do.”