Patrick Mahomes isn’t treating the Josh Simmons situation like a crack in the Chiefs’ foundation. He’s treating it like the kind of uncomfortable moment teams sometimes have to work through.
After ESPN’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport reported that Simmons was asked to leave a team meeting by Andy Reid and Mahomes, the quarterback said Wednesday that the Chiefs are making progress handling it.
“Stuff like that really doesn’t bother me because I’m so, like, in the moment (with) this team,” Mahomes said. “I think we’ve had the right conversations now. We’re moving in the right direction.
“You have to have hard conversations, and I think we’ve had those.”
The issue traces back to August, when Simmons missed a training camp practice with what was first described as an injured calf. An MRI later showed a bulging, herniated disc in his lumbar spine.
The Chiefs opted not to put Simmons on injured reserve before the season, believing he could avoid missing the first four games, but he still hasn’t returned. Kansas City moved him to IR last week, making Week 11 the earliest he can come back.
The reported disagreement during the meeting centered on Simmons having his feet up. According to Garafolo and Rapoport, Reid told him to change his posture, Simmons replied that he needed to sit that way because of his back, and Reid told him to see the trainers if he was uncomfortable. Mahomes backed Reid’s approach, and Simmons later apologized, according to the report.
Simmons was the Chiefs’ first-round pick at No. 32 overall in 2025.
Reid was asked about the matter after Kansas City’s loss at Seattle and kept his answer brief.
“I’ve said so much on him. Things happen.
That’s no reasoning that he was put on IR. He has a bad back, and he has to get that worked out.
I’ll leave it at that.”
Mahomes was also asked Wednesday whether the situation could become a distraction. He said it only turns into one if it’s mishandled.
“If you handle it the wrong way it could be,” Mahomes said. “At the same time, I feel like we’ve built this culture as coming together as a family and doing whatever we can that not only the player but the person is going in the right direction.
“You can have those hard conversations, then you can have the good conversations that come after that. It’s not always great in life, in general. You have to be able to have tough conversations so you can have better conversations going forward.
“I think that’s something we’ve built here.”
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