Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes’ rare joint confrontation leaves Chiefs star’s future on thin ice

Josh Simmons’ NFL future has been brought into question. This comes after reports emerged claiming that Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid had asked the offensive tackle to leave a team meeting. This was an order that franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes also supported. Per a report from ESPN, the incident took place on Wednesday with Simmons having been sitting with his feet up, prompting Reid to instruct that he put them down. The 23-year-old was said to have pushed back on this, stating that he was sitting that way as a result of his back and hips aching, to which Reid told him that he should therefore go to the team’s athletic trainers to go and get some treatment. Things quickly got heated which caused more disruption to the meeting, and Simmons only departed the room once two-time MVP Mahomes echoed Reid’s direction of seeking treatment. Although he left the meeting, and was ruled out of Wednesday’s practice, he did not leave the team’s facility. Later that day, he reportedly went back and apologized to both Reid and Kansas City’s leadership group for his actions. Just one day later, Simmons was placed on injured reserve due to a back injury which has kept him out the entire 2026 NFL season thus far. Simmons’ tethered injury history The Chiefs used their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to land Simmons after a strong showing at Ohio State. After an impressive training camp, he looked to be the missing piece to Kansas City’s offensive line – a key area of weakness the season prior. But his rookie season was very hit-and-miss. Having protected Mahomes very well through his first five career NFL games, all of which he started, Simmons was absent mid-season due to a personal issue related to his family. Following his return to the team, the 6-foot-5, 310 pound tackle would see the field just three more times before fracturing his wrist in Week 13 which would end his season. He finished with 525 offensive snaps in eight games, where he allowed just two sacks, 18 pressures and 14 hurries. Year 2 was supposed to be his breakout season, though, with him reporting to mandatory minicamp in June looking much leaner after having dropped to between 285-290 pounds. But he would then suffer a back injury during the offseason. Although he was ruled out of Week 1 against the Denver Broncos early on, Simmons’ injury wasn’t thought to be too serious . Reid even told reporters after their Week 2 win over the Indianapolis Colts that the second-year pro was “making progress” and that they only expected him to miss the first four weeks. In hindsight, and with Simmons now having been placed on Injured Reserve, his back injury was perhaps more serious than first feared. When put into perspective, Mahomes suffered a torn ACL and LCL two weeks after Simmons’ last game of his rookie season, and returned from that before his protector has yet to take to the field in 2026. Now, the earliest the former first-round pick can make his season debut is in Week 11 against the Arizona Cardinals , but of course there is no guarantee that he will be ready to feature then. With availability being a huge concern, so far, selecting Simmons with a first-round pick looks to have been a mistake, but the Chiefs will be hoping that once their star tackle does eventually get healthy, he will stay healthy. Sign up for talkSPORT Stateside , the YouTube channel dedicated to passionate US Sports fans. Will Gavin, Brian T. Smith, former NFL star Efe Obada and a collection of special guests debate the biggest talking points across the NFL, soccer, NBA and more.