Josh Simmons’ absence continues to raise more questions than it answers. The offensive lineman, whose last game was against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5, will be missing Sunday’s Las Vegas Raiders clash as well after missing team practices on Wednesday and Thursday. Why? Well, it looks like we aren’t going to be handed that piece of the puzzle anytime soon.

It started with Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who refused to divulge any kind of information. “Chiefs HC Andy Reid said LT Josh Simmons didn’t practice and remains excused with the family situation,” reporter Charles Goldman informed on X on Thursday.

“As far as Josh Simmons’ situation goes, I’m not going to comment on it today,” Reid had told reporters during his opening statement earlier on Wednesday. “[General manager Brett] Veach is handling everything there. And we’ll leave it at that.”

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ stance, on the other hand was somewhat the same. “I’ll keep conversations kind of between us,” he said. “But I’m always praying for him. I’m praying for all my teammates, so I’m always praying for him. I’ll just keep everything else kind of private to us.”

For many, it’s clear that the absence has got to hurt the team somehow. Ranked as the 31st-best offensive tackle in the league, the 22-year-old recorded 314 offensive snaps in five games. In his best game vs the Jaguars per Pro Football Focus, the player secured a 76.1 overall grade on offense, 83.5 pass blocking grade, and a 66.1 run blocking grade. What’s more, in five games, Simmons has forced just three penalties. However, with his return date still up in the air, the team will have to look for alternatives. Or, in this case, Jaylon Moore, who made sure to make the Chiefs forget about Simmons’ absence.

Against the Detroit Lions, Moore surrendered just three pressures and a sack in 40 pass-blocking snaps. In fact, one of his best performances came when he was assigned to block Lions’ star defender Aidan Hutchinson. He expertly countered the edge rusher to support the biggest gain of the game, a 14-yard catch by Xavier Worthy in the fourth quarter when the Chiefs were leading 20-17.

“He did a hell of a job out there,” Chiefs right guard Trey Smith said of Moore later. “Aidan Hutchinson is a good player. I can’t imagine [having Moore’s day].”

The Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, had noted he had been talking to Simmons. But offered little information when asked about it. From his words, however, it seemed like Simmons was dealing with something serious.

Even Chiefs’ insiders do not have any information regarding Simmons’ absence, and there is no given timeline for his return to the team. But in the midst of all this, Simmons has done something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by anyone.

Josh Simmons’ major off-field move

While questions continue to swirl around Josh Simmons’ absence, he hasn’t just disappeared from his team, but also from the internet. Simmons has notably deactivated all his social media accounts and gone radio silent. But what’s going on?

Ahead of the Chiefs’ Week 5 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Simmons landed on the injury report with an “illness.” As per Chiefs insider Nate Taylor, that was also related to the same “personal matter” that Simmons is dealing with now. As Taylor further added to the worry recently:

“Based on what I learned… I almost came away more impressed with how he’s performed over the last couple weeks before any of this became a greater situation… This is extremely serious and if it gets resolved… a month from now, he could be back on the field.”

For now, it looks like the Chiefs will have to continue without their rookie first-rounder. The Chiefs are preparing to go up against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. Beyond that, we will continue to wait for more updates on Josh Simmons and his eventual return to the Chiefs.