The most significant question mark for the Kansas City Chiefs heading into the 2025 season remains who will start at left tackle. The team has a plethora of options, but with day one in the books, rookie Josh Simmons opened camp as the starting left tackle.
Once the Kansas City Chiefs selected Ohio State Left Tackle, Josh Simmons, he knew what was expected of him joining the Chiefs kingdom. Get ready for the NFL season and do whatever it takes to protect Quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
Both Head Coach Andy Reid and Quarterback Patrick Mahomes have expressed praise for the young rookie who is attempting to erase a patellar injury from last October. Thus far, though he’ll be monitored, he appears to be a full go at the onset of training camp.
On Tuesday, the Chiefs opened with Simmons at left tackle, Kingsley Suamataia at left guard, Creed Humphrey at center, Trey Smith at right guard, and free agent signee Jaylon Moore at right tackle.
This could be the team’s starting offensive line this season. The injury to Jawaan Taylor has put him on the PUP list, and honestly, we don’t know if his knee is sound enough to last the entire season.
“Yeah, you know, he (Josh Simmons) did some good things. He worked in there with the ones and did a nice job, I thought. He’s got things he’s gotta work on, but keep doing that,” Reid stated on Tuesday.
Reid has made it very clear that the best five offensive linemen will start. That means Taylor could be a $28 million back-up, and Reid appears to be just okay with that. In other words, who can best protect the franchise will line up against the Chargers in Brazil.
“I think he’s (Josh Simmons) done a great job, you know? You see the talent obviously; you see the physical ability, but I think more than that, the way he has worked, you know, I’ve just got to see him working through the rest of his rehab process and then working on the field,” Mahomes stated.
“He’s done a great job with that; and then learning, I mean he is getting tested every single day with Spags (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) and being able to pick up blitzes and do a lot of different type(s) of stuff as well as go against some great pass rushers. So, I am excited for the future that he has.”
That’s the big question: Is the future now for Simmons? There’s no doubt about his talent, and to be honest, recovering from that injury and the post-surgery process is anything but easy. It took a strong-willed athlete to set a goal to be ready by training camp.
To his credit, Simmons stayed in Kansas City the entire offseason to work with trainers, coaches, and to indoctrinate himself into the Chiefs’ culture.
If he can handle those aspects off the playing surface, I can’t imagine how good he can be once the games are live. Simmons was dismissed during the draft process because of the injury. It was clear that 31 other teams felt he would not play much this season, but Simmons had another idea.
Thus, the Chiefs managed to land him at the end of the first round. If he exceeds their expectations, Kansas City has a generational left tackle to protect their generational quarterback.
