Josh Simmons’ IR Move Turns the Chiefs’ Left-Tackle Question Into a Four-Game Audit

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Josh Simmons’ move to injured reserve is disappointing because his limited return to practice had created reasonable hope that Kansas City’s preferred left tackle might soon rejoin the lineup. It is also clarifying.

The Chiefs no longer have to build each week around the possibility that Simmons could be ready. They now have a defined block of games in which Kahlil Benson is not merely keeping the seat warm. He is the starting left tackle Kansas City must evaluate against the standard of a championship offense.

That does not mean the Chiefs should rush to replace Benson. It means the evaluation has to become more demanding than asking whether an undrafted rookie can survive.

What the injured-reserve decision changes

The Chiefs’ official transaction ledger lists Simmons as placed on Reserve/Injured on October 22. Reuters reported that Kansas City’s medical staff believes his rehabilitation from a bulging disc has plateaued before the final stage required for competition. Surgery is not currently recommended, but Simmons must miss at least four games and cannot return before the November 22 matchup with Arizona.

That is a materially different situation from last week. When Simmons practiced on a limited basis, this blog argued that Kansas City should not let its need at tackle outrun his readiness. The Chiefs followed that principle. Now the football question shifts from when Simmons might return to what the line can prove without him.

Placing Simmons on injured reserve also removes some unhelpful weekly ambiguity. Coaches can prepare Benson as the starter without dividing developmental attention around a possible late-week change. Simmons can continue rehabilitating without every practice report becoming a referendum on whether he should play. For both players, clearer roles should be more useful than a nominal competition distorted by health.

Benson’s results are encouraging and incomplete

Benson earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month honors for September. In the Chiefs’ October 1 announcement, the team said he had started all three September games, allowed three pressures in each and had not surrendered a sack.

The larger sample is more complicated. Pro Football Focus’ October 22 player data credits Benson with 322 offensive snaps, 12 pressures and seven quarterback hits while still allowing no sacks. PFF grades him much more favorably as a run blocker than as a pass blocker.

PFF grades are one evaluator’s charting, not an unquestionable verdict. Even so, the split identifies the right issue. Benson has helped Kansas City build a productive rushing offense and has avoided the most visible protection failure: the sack. But seven attributed hits are not nothing, especially with Patrick Mahomes returning from major knee surgery. A protection can avoid a sack and still disrupt timing, force an early escape or limit which concepts a coordinator is comfortable calling.

That is why the next four games should not be judged by one clean headline statistic. “No sacks allowed” would be good, but Kansas City also needs to ask how often help must be sent to Benson’s side, whether Mahomes can work through longer-developing reads and whether the offense can retain its full menu rather than protecting the protection every week.

Seattle begins the audit under real pressure

The NFL’s Week 7 matchup page lists Seattle with 16 sacks, ninth in the league, and seven interceptions, second. That is a defense capable of creating pressure and converting hurried decisions into takeaways.

Kansas City’s Thursday injury report adds another complication: right tackle Jaylon Moore remained out of practice while in the concussion protocol. That does not establish his Sunday status, but it means the Chiefs must prepare for the possibility of Joshua Ezeudu starting opposite Benson.

If that happens, Kansas City should not treat every extra tight end, chip or quick throw as proof the tackles failed. Protection help is normal game planning. The more revealing question is whether the offense can vary those answers. If Seattle can predict where the help is going and which routes disappear with it, the cost becomes larger than an individual pressure.

The counterargument is that Kansas City is 5-0 and leads the league at 414 yards per game. Why turn a functional line into an urgent roster debate? That record is a strong reason not to panic. It is not a reason to stop evaluating. Team production can coexist with a position-specific weakness, just as a tackle can contribute to a strong running game while remaining inconsistent in true pass protection.

Do not make a roster move merely to make one

Simmons going to injured reserve will naturally restart calls for Kansas City to add a veteran tackle. Any available option should be compared with Benson, not with an idealized version of a proven starter. A newcomer would need to learn the terminology, protections and communication rules quickly enough to provide an actual upgrade. Experience alone does not guarantee that.

The Chiefs should keep examining the market, but the next four games can supply better evidence than the transaction headline. If Benson limits clean losses, keeps Mahomes from absorbing hits and allows the call sheet to remain broad, continuity may be more valuable than an outside name. If pressure repeatedly arrives from his edge or the offense has to remove too much of its passing game to compensate, the case for help becomes stronger.

My Take

Simmons’ move to injured reserve is bad news for his return timetable, but it gives Kansas City useful clarity. The Chiefs should treat the next four games as a genuine audit of Benson—not an extended emergency and not a ceremonial endorsement.

His run blocking and sack prevention have earned him the opportunity. The pressures and quarterback hits mean the job is not settled. Let performance decide whether Kansas City already has its answer or needs to find one before the postseason, while Simmons gets the time his back requires.

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Thursday, October 22, 2026