KANSAS CITY, Mo. — First-round offensive tackle Josh Simmons has yet to take a snap in team periods during Kansas City’s offseason workouts, but Chiefs head coach Andy Reid says he’s getting closer.
“He’s one that didn’t work this week, but he’s been doing everything up to that point,” Reid said after Thursday’s offseason practice. “He’s actually further ahead than I thought he was, and we might actually be able to get – originally, we weren’t going to have in the Phase III part at all, other than the individual stuff.”
Simmons tore the patellar tendon in his left knee in Ohio State’s loss to Oregon on Oct. 12. The injury typically requires nine to 12 months of recovery time, and Simmons will pass the eight-month mark since his surgery ahead of the team’s mandatory minicamp June 17-19. The club now hopes Simmons can start training camp as a full participant rather than on a limited basis.
“We might be able to get something out of him in the team periods in Phase III here, so that’s a positive,” Reid said. “We weren’t expecting to be able to do that, but he’s really done a good job with his rehab stuff, and the doctor that did his surgery did a nice job.”
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes says that Simmons “looks great.”
“He’s moving well, he’s doing all the right things, and he’s working extremely hard,” Mahomes said. “Whenever I go by the training room, he’s in the training room working to try to get back on the field as quickly as possible.”
Thursday’s workload for Simmons was similar to what he did during rookie minicamp May 3-5, consisting of individual and group drills along with offense-only work. The next step will be testing Simmoons against a live defense.
“We’ve kept him out of the team stuff with that, but he did all of Phase II, and he’s done a good job of what we’ve seen,” Reid said. “We’ve just got to get him in with the defense against him.”
Attendance Report
Organized team practice activities (OTAs) are voluntary, and Reid initially declined to discuss attendance or injuries on Thursday. He acknowledged that receiver Rashee Rice was among those players who were held out due to an illness that several players have been battling.
Tight end Travis Kelce has been in attendance for OTAs this week but wasn’t on the field Thursday. Also not seen at practice were right guard Trey Smith, right tackle Jawaan Taylor, receivers Hollywood Brown and Justyn Ross, and offensive tackle Ethan Driskell. Tight end Jared Wiley, who is returning from a torn ACL, attended practice as only an observer.
Simmons and cornerback Kristian Fulton took part in individual drills but did not participate in team periods.
A few players have swapped numbers, including defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who switched from No. 97 to No. 91, the numeral he wore at Kansas State. Wide receiver Tyquan Thornton switched from No. 19 to No. 2. Free agent addition Fulton is wearing No. 8.
Notes & Observations
The horn opened the Chiefs’ third OTA practice and first open to media at 11:20 a.m. Thursday under cloudy skies with temperatures in the upper 60s, an unseasonably cool day for late May, but a great day for football.
Note: The practice was closed to the public, so media in attendance are embargoed from reporting certain information, including depth charts, formations, injuries, and other strategic details.
Thursday’s practice was scheduled for 1 hour, 40 minutes and was a typical Reid offseason/training camp workout consisting of a stretch period, individual position drills, an installation session, and special teams. The practice concluded with two 11-on-11 periods with a 7-on-7 session sandwiched in between.
The group installation period offered a glimpse into the role to be played by Matt House, who returned to the club during the offseason as a senior defensive assistant. He appears to be stepping in as the new right-hand man for coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Ken Flajole, who was officially the team’s outside linebackers coach from 2021-23, previously filled a similar role for Spagnuolo, taking over some administrative duties and serving as essentially a second-team defensive coordinator. Flajole retired after the 2023 season, and assistant defensive line coach Alex Whittingham picked up some of those duties last season. House has served as a defensive coordinator at the college level during stints with Pittsburgh, Kentucky and LSU, and his experience in this role should provide a valuable resource for Spagnuolo’s staff.
There aren’t normally highlights during non-team periods, but Mahomes provided one when he delivered a no-look, behind-the-back pass to rookie running back Brashard Smith in the flat.
The special teams session under the watchful eye of coordinator Dave Toub proved insightful, with three position battles looming with training camp on the horizon. While incumbent punter Matt Araiza remains the favorite to win the job, undrafted rookie free agent Eddie Czaplicki poses a serious challenge. Araiza and Czaplicki shared punting and kick-holding duties, and both performed well. Tasked with pinning punts near the goal line, Czaplicki owned the best punt of the day with a high, booming kick that his gunner was able to haul in on the 1-yard line.
Both kick and punt return specialists’ roles are also open. Nikko Remigio is the returning starter at both positions. His primary competition on punt returns is Skyy Moore, and the winner of the primary punt returner role will likely earn a roster spot at receiver. It remains uncertain whether any other candidates will enter the fray on punt returns, but the field will likely expand during training camp.
The line is already crowded for the kick returner jobs with Remigio the frontrunner. The 5-foot-9, 187-pound Remigio has always had a strong base, but his body size continues to morph closer to that of a running back, which Toub favors in the kick return role. That’s a key reason why Smith, the seventh-round draft pick, is a top candidate for one of the kick return roles as well. Other candidates include receivers Jalen Royals, Tyquan Thornton and Jimmy Holiday, as well as cornerback Nohl Williams and running back Elijah Mitchell.
The spirit and pace of the practice picked up 58 minutes into practice when the first 11-on-11 session started. While Isiah Pacheco dropped a short pass in the flat on the first snap, the offense quickly shook off the early butterflies. Mahomes was sharp but backups Gardner Minshew and Bailey Zappe finished off the first sessios, combining for five straight completions.
The 7-on-7 period favored the offense, and Mahomes and Minshew had success throwing downfield. Thornton made an impressive catch down the right sideline in hauling in a Mahomes pass over his left shoulder in full stride. Minshew later laid a deep throw out in front of Remigio, who made a diving catch near the right sideline and secured the ball as he thudded to the turf.
Royals turned in one of the best plays of the day during a red-zone scramble drill. Mahomes couldn’t initially find a target but eventually fired a laser toward the back of the end zone. Royals elevated out of the traffic and hauled in the catch along the backline and landed both feet in bounds for the touchdown.
When the linemen returned to the field for the final 11-on-11 period, cornerback Trent McDuffie avenged the defense. On the second play of the session, Mahomes scrambled and attempted to shot-put the ball in the direction of receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. The toss fell short, however, and McDuffie made a diving catch for the interception. Smith-Schuter gave McDuffie a congratulatory pat on the helmet after the play.
Mahomes and Xavier Worthy combined for the play of the day late in practice. The quarterback delivered a bullet pass high over the middle, and Worthy reached out with his right to haul in the pass one-handed and continue in stride. That play brought whistles and cheers from both the offensive and defensive sides of the field.
Five Players to Watch
Here’s a quick rundown of fresh faces with the Chiefs who put themselves on the radar by flashing on Thursday.
DT Omarr Norman-Lott: Which member of the 2025 draft class will win a starting job first? Norman-Lott looks like a safe bet. The Chiefs are working on building up the rookie’s stamina after he played just 235 snaps in Tennessee’s rotation-heavy defensive front last year. His busiest workload in college goes back to 2021 when he played 301 snaps on defense for Arizona State. For comparison’s sake, Chris Jones led Kansas City’s defensive tackles with 771 defensive snaps, and Tershawn Wharton ranked second with 667. Always remember to wait until the pads come on, but Norman-Lott looks ready to compete early.
WR Tyquan Thornton: Thornton and Worthy enjoy a friendly jousting over who’s the fastest Chiefs receiver. Worthy may own the fastest 40-yard time in NFL Combine history with 4.21 seconds, but Thornton owns a share of 10th place at 4.28 seconds. A 2022 second-round pick for the Patriots, as a rookie, Thornton caught 22 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns before missing part of the 2023 season with an injury and didn’t regain his form. He joined the Chiefs’ practice squad last season, and his speed could give Mahomes another deep threat to stretch the field.
WR Jason Brownlee: An undrafted free agent in 2023, the 6-foot-3, 202-pound Brownlee earned a roster spot out of training camp as a rookie and finished the season with five catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. He signed with the Kansas City practice squad in January and now has found himself in the battle for the final receiver spot. Brownlee showed a strong connection with backups Minshew and Zappe on Thursday.
TE Jake Briningstool: With Wiley likely out until early in the season, the battle for the team’s No. 3 tight end spot entering the season is wide open. Briningstool showed during rookie minicamp a strong ability to catch the ball in traffic, and he displayed that skill again in Thursday’s practice. Expect veteran Robert Tonyan to be a strong competitor, but Briningstool has the physical tools and the skillset to win the roster battle.
P Eddie Czaplicki: Last year’s Ray Guy Award winner as college football’s top punter arrived as an undrafted free agent to push Araiza, and so far, he’s doing just that. Toub has an eye for kicking talent, and his tutelage helped craft Tommy Townsend, Jack Fox and Ryan Rehkow into the league’s top punters. If Czaplicki isn’t kicking for the Chiefs this season, it won’t be long before he’s punting somewhere in the NFL.
Last Ride for 87?
Kelce turns 36 in October, and at this age, speculation runs rampant that every season could be his last. Kelce didn’t practice on Thursday, but Mahomes doesn’t see any signs that the future Hall of Fame tight end is planning a retirement party soon.
“The way he’s talking about football, the way he’s talking about working and trying to be even better this year than he was last year, he’s not – he doesn’t seem like a guy that it’s his last ride, like he’s tired of the job,” Mahomes said. “He’s in there, he’s working, and I know his body feels good. I think it feels better than even last year before going into the last season. Just because I think he’s motivated to go out there and have an even better year than he had this last (year).”
Pops the Graduate
Pacheco took some time away from the gridiron this spring to finish the final online classes for his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and take part in graduation ceremonies at Rutgers earlier this month.
“It means so much to me and my family to be the first generation graduate,” Pacheco said. “So, you know, just big, a big part of my career there that I wanted to finish, and I had to go back, and I did it. I’m so blessed.”
Pacheco spent parts of four academic years at Rutgers, including the COVID interruption in 2020. He declared for the NFL draft in 2022 with a year of eligibility remaining, but always planned to return to finish his degree.
“One time I was in class and I seen some older gentleman in class, and I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s never too late to go back,'” Pacheco recalled. “And he was probably one of the tallest students in there, but he was an older gentleman. I’m like, yo, like that right there, that’s motivation that you’re never too old to go back and get your degree.”
The 26-year-old Pacheco enters the final season of his rookie contract as the starting running back for the defending AFC champions. Moments after his selection in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Pacheco proclaimed he was competing “to take another grown man’s job.” How does it feel for the hunter to be the hunted with young players challenging him for his job?
“I feel the need to keep leading the guys, keep going out there and leading by example and just putting it on tape and having fun,” Pacheco said. “It’s a great room, Phenomenal room. Coach and (general manager Brett) Veach did a great job bringing guys in able to compete, and that’s what I keep telling when we break the huddle down, ‘Keep competing guys and getting each other better.'”
What’s Next?
Thursday’s workout wrapped up this week of practice for the Chiefs. Players return to the field next week for workouts on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. All of the sessions are closed to the general public, but media will be in attendance Wednesday.
The Chiefs conclude Phase III of the offseason program with OTA practices June 10-13 and the mandatory minicamp June 17-19.
