Chiefs First-Rounder Josh Simmons' Eagerness to Return

The Kansas City Chiefs are hopeful that their 2025 NFL Draft first-round pick in Josh Simmons, will pan out. Before suffering an injury that ended his senior season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Simmons was highly regarded as one of the best offensive linemen available in the draft.

Due to his injury, Simmons nearly fell out of the first round, but in reality, fell right into the arms of the Chiefs. Seeing how impressive Simmons was when he was healthy, the Chiefs' front office had to stick to their guns, knowing the offensive line needed any help they could get.

Head coach Andy Reid has disclosed that the process of getting Simmons back to 100% has been a slow one. However, with the drive that Simmons has shown when talking to the media, all Simmons seems to want is to get back on the football field and to compete.

Simmons repeatedly told the media that he's taking his recovery day by day, but when asked if it's been difficult to hold himself back from going 100% in practices, Simmons revealed the truth.

"This time last year, I was anticipating going a lot harder, but everything happens for a reason. I trust the staff around me, the players around me, so I'm just doing what I can," Simmons said on Tuesday.

While he's been participating as much as he can through rookie minicamp and OTAs, when asked how much he's looking forward to getting back to the normality of the game and putting pads back on, his response speaks for itself.

"Very. Again, I wanted to be able to throw the pads on ASAP, but things happen for a reason. Whatever the staff allows me to do, I'm definitely going to do (it) really hard."

In a perfect world, Simmons would be the easy answer to pencil in at the left tackle position to solidify the offensive line. But since we live in reality, it's encouraging to see the progress that Simmons has made since his injury, and the eagerness he has to get back on the field to compete.

The Chiefs also signed Jaylon Moore as a left tackle alternative this offseason, should Simmons' recovery take an unexpected turn before the beginning of the season.

Check out @KCChiefsOnSI and @Domminchella on X (Twitter) and never miss breaking stories.

And, like our Facebook page here to connect with Chiefs fans around the world.