The life of an NFL rookie is tough enough when things are going well, but it is even harder when you arrive at your new team injured, which is what met Kansas City Chiefs left tackle Josh Simmons.
Coming off a patellar injury last season at Ohio State, Simmons is part of the rehab group as OTAs get underway, and that can be a hard life for a first-rounder who is expected to feature at times in 2025.
As the offseason workouts continue, rookies are looking to impress the coaching staff in the hopes of making the final 53-man roster or, at worst, the practice squad. However, in Simmons' case, he has had to impress in a different way.
With his work ethic.
"I've really been impressed with his professionalism since he's been in this building," offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. "He's really locked in, he's doing everything he can do up to what he's allowed to do with the injury. So that's all he can do. He's got a great group of guys on that O-line, coach [Andy] Heck and Coach [Matt] Matthaei (offensive line coaches) teaching them. He's in a great spot, and I think we just got to keep him going arrow up, but man, his film is really good."
Keeping that arrow pointing upward is the goal, and when Simmons is cleared to practice fully, we will get a good indication of where he sits in the left tackle pecking order.
That starting role belongs to free agent signing Jaylon Moore as we sit here today, but if we and the Chiefs are being truthful, Simmons, in an ideal world, would eventually usurp Moore at some point in the 2025 season.
To do that, he must get the work and reps under his belt in the offseason, particularly at training camp, and if we are going off Nagy's words, the rookie seems to be progressing well to make that a legitimate target.
