I don’t think there’s any reason to rush him into action.

We made it to the Super Bowl without him last season.

IF he's good to go, you play him. You want him experienced and confident in the play-offs.

IF he's not good to go, then you probably aren't playing him this season barring injury to Moore.

I think Simmons will eventually be an above average starting Left Tackle. But it's not out of the question that Jaylon Moore just flat out beats him for the starting job in 2025. Rookie Left Tackles are very rarely able to beat out a 5 year NFL veteran. Simmons probably beats him out for the job in 2026.

Someone is moving to Rt tackle next year..

They are there in the stadium to talk to trainers and relay that info as their "own or original opinion."

Nate was ripping Reid about disclosing misleading info about Wanya Morris' health.

I'm all about a redshirt year for him, just like you would with a prized rookie QB that you don't wanna ruin before he even gets started

If Moore looks decent you gotta do it IMO, we simply have too much riding on this to hurry him along... I mean if he is consistently destroying souls in camp then yeah fine throw him in the deep end week 1, but otherwise lets tread cautiously with him

Silverback? Definitely moves like him.

Not the same thing.

If he's good to go, he plays.

If he can't beat out a former 5th round pick, he's not what we thought he was.

We've already done our little dance together on this

I believe there might be, that there is the possibility of some unforeseen adjustments and/or complications along the way in his early development

You don't and thats fine, its not something I'm going to argue about... we'll just see how it plays out and go from there

Complications or setbacks mean he's NOT good to go. That's a different matter.

I'M NOT TAKING YOUR ARGUE-BAIT

We'll see how it all plays out :D

Mahomes, Montana, Rodgers, Favre, Brady all sat on the bench to begin their careers. Wonder how amazing they would have been if their coaches started them day 1.

Calm the F down guys. Simmons can take a redshirt year.

I have zero issue with they slow playing it. That's the entire point of taking this gamble and having Moore already in the fold.

oooookay. Now you're going on ignore.

To expect anything from Simmons this season is simply going to be a letdown. We’ll be lucky to see him late in the season during a meaningless game…it’s a full year+ to get back to whatever level he’s able to. And that’s ok.

After what happened with Kingsley I think I'm in the group that thinks he can sit, learn, and heal for as long as needed.

HA!

What fun would the off-season be if we all did that?!

No, what I mean is this-

If he's not healthy, okay, that's one thing. Get him healthy. Don't rush it.

BUT-if he's healthy, you need to play him, in my opinion, for two reasons:

1) You need to know if he's going to be able to do it. You don't want to find out in training camp of '26 that "oops, yeah, he can't move like he needs to anymore." You need to know as soon as possible.

2) If he IS healthy, he's absolutely one of the best 5 offensive linemen you have, and Andy's always said they'll play the 'best 5'.

He's not a QB, he doesn't need a red-shirt season, he needs to PLAY if he CAN.

Now, if he's not healthy, that's totally different.

All just my opinion, but I don't want to not KNOW what's happening there NEXT spring, you know what I mean?

I'm 100% on board with bringing Simmons along slowly, this is exactly why they brought in Jaylon Moore. It's great that we finally have some quality depth at the most important position in football outside of QB. The Chiefs have been operating on razor thin margins on the OL and it finally bit us in the ass vs an amazing Eagles team in the SB.

I am really excited to see Kingsley play at LG if that becomes reality/barring injuries etc. It's really sad how they threw him to the wolves as the starting LT last year in the midst of a three-peat try, with no chip help in sight no less.

Kingsley has the attitude to be NASTY in the IOL

Bet?

See man we're just talking past one another, you're doing some wild Yngwie Malmsteen solo over my chugging, blues style rhythm LMAO

Yes, if he's constantly pancaking CJ95 in camp then by all means start him day ONE... but Simmons particular injury behooves us to be careful, and let him get up to speed at his own pace IMO

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/srqy0kSayQs?si=iBBKLdM_E2S__VV6" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

maybe, just maybe

He might not need a year but he might need a year

who was the dumbass asking dumbass questions "Who do you compare the new running back to? Is he a new McKinnon?"

how does someone asking that question get that press pass

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Chiefs first-round pick Josh Simmons signed his four-year, fully-guaranteed contract worth $14,675,353, per his agents Drew Rosenhaus, Robert Bailey and Oliver Chell. <a href="https://t.co/35pdggNMnv">pic.twitter.com/35pdggNMnv</a></p>&mdash; Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1919183770814411019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

No, there's a misunderstanding about this injury.

It's not that it takes a long time to heal. It doesn't. He should be essentially healed right now, and a bunch more time isn't going to do anything either way in regards to that. Play or not play, that's not going to matter in regards to the injury and his 'health'.

The question in regards to this injury is whether or not he'll ever be able to move, or have the same explosion and strength in that knee ever again. It won't HURT or anything, it just won't act the same-this is what the higher percentage of people who have this injury deal with. And if THAT is the case, we need to know as soon as possible, because we don't have an NFL LT here other than Moore. IF that's the case.

I don't want to have a big fat question mark next April.

and taking a year off does nothing positive for the kid. He'll either be healthy or not. He should be 'healed'. That's not the same thing as 'like he was prior to the injury'.

And THAT is what we need to know, and ASAP.

Andy says in this presser that Simmons isn’t quite there yet. “Needs more time”. I’ll watch it again, but his face and body language while he said it is something that could be read into, either way.

Right.

But the timeline for 'healing' from this surgery is pretty much up. Now, he's got to get the strength back and what have you. And Andy and Veach have indicated they expect he'll be participating in training camp.

But there's no reason for any 'red shirt year'. That does nothing. There's zero benefit. And, in fact, is a detriment for the team long-term because we still may not know if we have a Left Tackle moving forward at season's end.

All just my opinion.

Andy also mentioned multiple times how he could see the talent right away with Josh.

You could tell that he was excited about it.

Can we put all the videos and such in the OP in a spoiler tag?

Anyway, I've said about all I have to say on it, and I doubt my mind's going to be changed on it. To summarize:

I was against picking Simmons in the first place.
I can see why they thought he was worth the risk.
He should be 'healed' and ready for camp, and there's no reason to sit him; he's either good to go or he's not.
We need to know ASAP. Well, not US-the team does, because it changes a LOT of calculations, especially with Karlaftis and McDuffie moving forward.

In Veach (and Burkholder) we must trust.

They put Suamataia out there on opening day, with no help.

The season is 4 months away.

Simmons will be the day 1 starter for us at left tackle, unless health is an issue.

Simmons - Moore
Suamataia - Caliendo/Cooper
Humphrey - Hunter
Smith - Hanson
Taylor - Morris - Pole

By the halfway point in the 2026 season other team fans will be accusing the NFL of collusion and cheating just to get the Chiefs a great left tackle.

I think they will WANT to start him. But perhaps they will be cautious after the Kingsley disaster last year. I think he will be easied in unless Moore just comes out guns a blazin. I expect Simmons to be starting by midseason. I would be very excited if Simmons is the opening day starter because that means he has all of his strength back in the knee.

Lets revisit this exchange in August

I think so, too.

unless Simmons is truly at 100% health then Moore should start the season. We need to see what he's getting $15 m's for.

Moore was given his $ to ensure Mahomes is protected and that the team has a certain level of play at the position that’s acceptable. He’s the Alex Smith for them at LT.

They were serious about fixing LT and got the top OT. After that, they drafted the guy they wanted, too. One with special upside.

Unless Moore is really holding it down, I think we see Simmons as our starting LT mid-season.

He's getting paid $15 mil, because they didn't think there was a chance that Simmons or a legit LT prosepct would fall to them and so they signed Moore to play LT.

I'm mostly trying to say don't rush Simmons. If he's healthy and ready to go and is obviously the guy who should be starting then **** ya. But he needs to be healthy because we would really like it if he's our LT for the next decade.

Since we are all guessing here:

My guess is that Simmons starts by game 4-6.. gives us time to evaluate Moore while getting Simmons up to speed and a bit more time to gain strength and confidence.

The only outlier is if Simmons comes into camp and is just undeniable. Then Simmons starts game 1

Creed and Tre Smith started day 1 if I remember correctly?

Bro he injured it in October. It can take a full 12 months to heal. What are you talking about? You’re acting as though you are the attending surgeon and are VERY sure that his particular injury should be 100% healed. This is some real talking out of your ass.

If you were an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in patellar repair, you STILL couldn’t really give a time line without seeing his actual case.

It seems to me they never like to go into a draft with a gaping hole in the roster.

Moore can: cover LT while Simmons gets up to speed. Swing tackle after, and potentially take over RT when Juwan Taylor leaves.

Why don't you go look it up? I did. I see 'return to play ' at 24 weeks.

So you can continue to be a dick if you want, but I had a reason for my guess.

He's still rehabbing at rookie mini camp it seems.

I'd imagine unless he's a full go by the start of TC, he's not gonna play this year.

Once they set the OL, it'll be the way it is. Andy doesn't change unless......catastrophe.

Eh, we have options. Not like it’s ideal but Kingsley and Wanya can still back up. We got burned too badly by pushing humphries too fast. I’d really like to see how a patella injury can heal with the additional time since it feels like most cases are a rush to get someone back. Although we see theoretical timelines we also seem to hear that there’s benefit to giving it extra time to set.

We’ve been so bad at LT yet we can still win regular season games with it. No reason to rush. Let’s get this one as right as possible and not rush him a minute sooner to a safe return timeline.

If Andy says he’ll be ready for training, camp, barring any setbacks… He’ll be ready for training camp. I don’t know why some here continue to insist that they are medical experts, when Andy has a lot more insider info than any of us..

Nick Jacobs attended rookie minicamp and was impressed by the movement that he saw.

(HE UNDERSTANDS THAT IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING. I UNDERSTAND THAT IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN ANYTHING.)

But I'd rather get reports that he looks fluid and comfortable and the team isn't hiding him than something more clouded. It's at least a small step in the right direction.

I’m not trying to be a dick. But you’re basing a TON of absolutes on something that is anything but. Like, who even said that? His agent? The surgeon? There is absolutely no way to project that recovery time with the kind of clock-watching certainty you have.

You didn’t like the pick before hand and I think you’re rooting for your prediction a little bit here.

On the contrary. I'm assuming that Andy, Veach, and Burkholder know more than we do. I'm saying that if we're assuming he's going to be ok, then he should be 100% by camp. What I'm pushing back on is the idea that somehow a significant amount of time is going to make any difference. This idea that he won't be healed is nonsense. Whether he's ever going to be what he was is the question.

And the sooner we have an answer, the better.

Ha ha, I love that metaphor.

The beauty of this situation is that Simmons being ready to start the season has little-to-no impact on our season. We signed Moore with the intent to start, which he can albeit with a limited ceiling.

If Simmons is ready to start at some point, great. We may be able to upgrade the position. If not, who cares? Very few of our recent 1st round picks have started and made a big impact in Year 1, including our greatest 1st round pick ever.

Rehashing the same argument over his health is pointless when a) we'll have a clear answer soon b) the answer doesn't matter much anyway.

Too late, bud. I’m already at midnight if ya know what I mean..

I've never been confused for Malmsteen before!

October. I’m giving twelve months from the time of the injury. I expect nothing before then.

:thumb:

Personally, I agree with your take on Simmons.
I just like that metaphor. Don't hear something like that every day. And probably very few of us get it.

Ok, well that's cool, but if you search the protocol for the injury, the first 3 all concur (U.Mass, Stoney Brook U. and perhaps most importantly Ohio State University) all indicate 6 months to be the target for return to play.

So, who's playing doctor, and who's going with the actual medical protocol?

And I'm 100% behind the kid. I'm just saying that if he's going to be ok, he'll be ok by camp and should be able to beat out a 5th round pick. And there's no benefit to holding him out. He's either going to be ok or he's not.

Moore wasn’t good AT ALL when he played RT.

I understand the studies/logic here, but I have never seen an NFL player return to play in 6 months after a patellar tendon tear, or 8 months for that matter. Have you?

Copy that.

Heard somebody make the argument here that Moore developed into a better player since his original work at RT, which makes sense. If he developed into a solid LT it seems possible that he is also better than he was at RT.

I get that. But bodies are all different. You could 100% be right. He might be fully healed right now. I hope he is! I just am withholding judgment or expectation.

Look, here is an article from the Mayo clinic about a novel patellar surgical repair process that was performed on a 22 year old professional football player in 2016.

So, great. I hope you're right. And - if this kind of thing has only gotten more advanced over the last five years since this article, then I think all bets are off from what we can expect or hope for.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-p...n/mac-20482722

He sustained the injury last October, so the start of Chiefs training camp would be almost 10 months.

Right...but I'm saying...has anyone actually RETURNED TO PLAY in under 12 months? It seems rare, if ever. And to expect him to win the job outright, as a rookie, while recovering from a serious knee injury 10 months out...seems unlikely and unfair.

Building strength back in his upper and lower leg might take a bit.. different injury but thats what is holding Acuna back right now

I’m gonna disagree with you on that. I think Moore and Taylor can hold down the fort.

I don’t think it’s doubting the training staff. I just think the chiefs set up the perfect situation to play this super safe. Barring some real bad play, I think it’s Jaylon’s job to lose. I don’t doubt Simmons can be ready by training camp. But I can also see them easing him into heavy reps if Moore isn’t a tire fire during camp. We’ve already paid for Moore so he’s a sunk cost at this point.

Keep in mind that Simmons isn’t a 4 year starter at LT. Extra time also gives us a chance to develop the kid before throwing him to the wolves.

I am comfortable with the trainings staff feeling like he will eventually be ok. But I just don’t see Andy going that route just yet knowing he has a safe option to begin with.

We have experience understanding niangs patella timeline.

And also experience pushing humphries too hard, too soon. Understandably since it was out of desperation.

I think those really point to us taking this very cautiously. I imagine a lot of the confidence around how quickly he’ll be ready is more to ease our concerns.

It’s possible, sure.

There are also plenty of instances of tackles who just aren’t cut out to switch sides.

And Bradley Chubb tore his in December of 2023 before missing all of 2024.

{shrug}

This isn't a pick made for 2025. If there's ANY chance at all of reinjury or compensation injury, err waaaaaay to the side of caution.

Because at a point you're also talking about a fair bit of lost development time. I mean lets just say for the sake of argument he has an ACL go in the right leg just as a compensation injury --- not even an injury to the same joint. Well now he's likely missing a year due to rest/rehab.

And the guy is still a rookie. And he's still only played one season against P5 competition (having played at SDSU his first two seasons and then missing the conference slate his senior season). He just needs time developing as well.

Let's say he ends up fit as a fiddle after all that -- you've still just lost time developing him. And how that impacts a guy's growth curve is fairly well established. He just has a tendency to flatten it out; takes longer to end lower when a guy misses prolonged periods of time.

Let's make awfully sure this kid is sound. No reason to rush him back.

It's interesting to me when/where/how speculation is allowed and when it isn't.

When past performance matters and when it doesn't.

I mean it's almost like MAYBE we should just stop gatekeeping conversation...

I haven’t been able to find any changes to treatment, though we do have Simmons’ word that they double braced the tendon even though they normally don’t (from which we can infer it was a tear not a rupture, since the standard for a rupture is to double brace it).

I agree with Meck that you should push him onto the field if you can, as soon as he’s really ready.

But that leg needs to be stable and strong and fully recovered. If it isn’t as strong as the other leg, that can cause all sorts of injuries.

Like shredding all the ligaments in your other knee because it’s been doing too much work. Like what happened to Jack Conklin. So I think there is a risk in bringing him back too soon.

I trust the Chiefs staff to make the right call on that.

Wait Bradley Chubb tore his patella tendon as well? Goddamn I thought that was a standard ACL. Looks like it was his ACL, meniscus and patella.

That’s brutal.

Just because the patellar tendon is healed doesn't mean that the entire knee is as strong as it should be to play professional football. Put me down as erring on the side of caution.

we dont even know where it ripped...kneecap or tibia..partial tear or complete?
There is no predicting this

I'm thinking the Chiefs medical staff found out all that information well in advance of the draft instead of Veach just throwing darts at a dartboard hoping for the best.

yeah, he probably done.


He not good.

Im sure they did...we can only go off of what we know about that type of injury

which isnt very much

The protocols allow for that. It's a schedule for rehab, too.

I'm just saying.

IF he's doing well in his rehab, then there's no reason to wait. He'll either be good, or he won't be able to move the same way and if we don't have that answer come next spring, it really sucks.