KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs placed first-round pick Josh Simmons on injured reserve Wednesday following surgery to repair a fractured and dislocated left wrist, leaving them without their starting left tackle as they try to claw back into the postseason picture.
The Chiefs are 6-6 and 10th in the AFC race heading into Sunday night’s game against the Houston Texans.
Simmons started the first five games of the season, then missed the next four while dealing with a family matter. He returned to start in a loss to Denver and a win over Indianapolis before getting hurt in last week’s Thanksgiving Day loss in Dallas.
“Listen, the kid loves to play football. He’s down about that part,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “But he’s upbeat. The surgery went well, which is a real positive, so he feels good about that. And then its just a matter of coming back.”
Simmons missed most of last season at Ohio State after tearing the patellar tendon in his knee. But his recovery exceeded almost all expectations, and he was back in time to not only participate in fall camp but win the starting left tackle job early.
“He did a great job with his knee coming back,” Reid said. “Whatever he can do to rehab it, he’s going to do. That’s how he rolls.”
Esa Pole has moved up from the practice squad to replace Simmons on the active roster.
What compounds the problem for the Chiefs is that along with Simmons, they are missing right guard Trey Smith with an ankle injury and right tackle Jawaan Taylor because of a triceps strain. Both missed practice on Wednesday, and it appears likely that they will enter their game against Houston with three replacements along the offensive line.
Wanya Morris is expected to replace Simmons on the blind side of Patrick Mahomes, while Mike Caliendo will slide into the lineup for Smith at guard. Jaylon Moore, who played well in place of Simmons earlier this season, will fill in for Taylor at right tackle.
“For us, whoever is going to be in the game is going to be ready to go,” Chiefs center Creed Humphrey said. “It’s just making sure that communication is good, everyone is on the same page and everyone is ready to play.”
Mahomes did acknowledge that the ball may have to come out of his hands a bit quicker, but not just because of the fill-ins. They also will be going against one of the NFL’s best defenses, one that ranks first in total yardage and scoring.
Hardly an ideal situation for what is nearly a must-win game for the reigning AFC champions.
When the Chiefs were unable to beat the Cowboys last week, and a series of results over the weekend did not go their way, they slid even deeper in the playoff pecking order. They are just 3-4 against the rest of the conference, which hurts them when it comes to tiebreakers, and they have already lost once apiece to the AFC West-rival Broncos and Chargers.
“We just have to execute at a higher level. We’ve done a lot of good things but we’ve made a lot of mistakes that we haven’t been able to overcome,” Mahomes said. “We’re going to have to throw it all out there and try to find a way to win, and this will be a big game for us to show who we are and who we can be moving into the end of the season.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Dave Skretta, The Associated Press
