Josh Simmons’ Back Injury Changes the Chiefs’ Left-Tackle Question

For the first three weeks of the season, Josh Simmons’ absence could still be treated as a waiting game.

Kansas City knew its starting left tackle had a back problem. The hope was that the issue would calm down, Simmons would regain strength and the Chiefs would eventually get their preferred blind-side protector back.

Wednesday changed the conversation.

Andy Reid disclosed that Simmons is dealing with a bulging disk in his lower back that has affected the strength in his leg. Simmons did not practice Wednesday, although Reid also said the tackle is making progress and that the team currently believes surgery may not be necessary. Arrowhead Pride

That is encouraging medically.

From a football-planning standpoint, however, it means Kansas City needs to treat left tackle as a present-tense problem rather than an expected short-term absence.

Not Putting Simmons on IR Does Not Mean a Return Is Imminent

The Chiefs chose not to place Simmons on injured reserve.

That can sound like evidence that a return is close.

Reid’s explanation was more cautious.

Kansas City did not need the roster spot, and the uncertainty of back injuries made the team reluctant to lock Simmons into a fixed absence. Reid emphasized that Simmons is working, improving and undergoing follow-up evaluations. Arrowhead Pride

That is not the same thing as saying he will play Sunday.

In fact, the official Wednesday injury report listed Simmons as a non-participant. Kansas City had no game designation for him yet because final statuses come later in the week. Kansas City Chiefs

The practical lesson is simple: Kansas City should build the Raiders game plan around the line it has available, not the line it hopes to have later.

The Opponent Makes the Timing Uncomfortable

That would matter against anyone.

It matters more because Maxx Crosby is waiting on the other side.

Crosby has 71 career sacks and is coming off a 2025 season in which he recorded 10 sacks, 28 tackles for loss and 20 quarterback hits. He has 1.5 sacks through three games this season. Las Vegas Raiders

Patrick Mahomes called facing Crosby the kind of matchup that represents competitors testing themselves against the best. Kansas City Chiefs

That is the fun version of the matchup.

The less romantic version is that Kansas City cannot afford to leave a vulnerable edge isolated for four quarters and assume Mahomes will solve whatever reaches him.

Protection plans matter.

Tight-end alignment matters.

Running-back help matters.

Quick-game concepts matter.

So does the ability to run the football well enough that Crosby cannot attack the same pass set over and over.

The Chiefs Do Have More Ways to Protect the Protection

This is where the 2026 offense may be better equipped than some recent Chiefs teams.

Kansas City is no longer asking Mahomes to live almost entirely out of obvious passing situations.

Kenneth Walker III has given the offense a credible rushing threat, and Kansas City has become far more dangerous on play action. That makes it harder for an edge defender to attack every snap as if the quarterback is guaranteed to drop straight back.

That does not neutralize Crosby.

It changes the number of problems he has to diagnose.

An offense with a dangerous running back can use motion, play action, chips and formations to make an elite pass rusher hesitate just enough to alter the timing of a play.

Against Crosby, fractions of a second matter.

There Is a Counterargument

Kansas City is 3-0 without Simmons.

Mahomes is playing efficiently.

The offense is creating explosive plays.

So why treat this as a serious concern?

Because early success does not eliminate matchup-specific weaknesses.

The Chiefs can survive a position issue for several weeks and still encounter an opponent uniquely equipped to attack it.

Crosby is that kind of player.

His current sack total is not enormous, but using three games of sack production to evaluate him would ignore seven years of evidence.

Kansas City does not need to panic.

It does need to respect the problem.

My Take

The most important part of Reid’s Simmons update was not the phrase “bulging disk.”

It was the uncertainty around the timeline.

Kansas City now knows enough to stop pretending this is simply a normal week-to-week injury.

Simmons may continue improving. He may return soon enough that this becomes a temporary concern.

But until he practices and proves he is ready, the Chiefs have to design protection as if help is not arriving.

That makes Sunday against Maxx Crosby an important test of Andy Reid’s offense.

If Kansas City can protect Mahomes without becoming predictable, it will show the Chiefs have developed something almost as valuable as a healthy starting left tackle:

A system capable of surviving without one.