‘They rush different from our guys’ — Chiefs LT Josh Simmons’ preseason Week 1 admission proves he’s the man for the job in Kansas City originally appeared on A to Z Sports.
Kansas City Chiefs rookie LT Josh Simmons gave Chiefs Kingdom a taste of what’s to come in his preseason debut against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1.
In what was his first live game action since suffering a patella tendon injury with the Ohio State Buckeyes last October, Simmons got the starter treatment, playing just two series before being pulled with the rest of the starting lineup. One of those series was with starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes, while the other was with Gardner Minshew under center.
“First of all, it was a lot of fun playing with the guys,” Simmons told reporters. “You see the work from camp that you go ahead and translate onto the field. I think we had a great first quarter. Obviously, the whole team had one. But there’s some good nuggets that you can learn from going into practice this week.”
Simmons played just 11 snaps against the Cardinals, with four opportunities to block the run and seven opportunities to pass block. He pitched a virtual shutout with no sacks, no pressures, and no penalties allowed during those opportunities, lining up against both sixth-year OLB Baron Browning and fifth-year OLB Zaven Collins. The impressive part? He was going up against an entirely different type of edge rusher in Saturday’s game compared to what he’s been facing regularly at Missouri Western State University for the past two weeks.
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Chiefs LT Josh Simmons had to adjust on the fly to the Cardinals’ defense
Going against Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon’s 3-4 defense was a new and unique challenge for Simmons, who found himself adjusting on the fly to some key differences between what he’s seen from Steve Spagnuolo’s defense at Chiefs training camp.
“Yeah, it was different,” Simmons told reporters after the game. “So, they rush different from our guys. So that’s probably a bigger adjustment you have to be able to (make) because, like, people may line up wider. They (the Cardinals) line up a lot wider than we do. So, you’re gonna have to set a little bit deeper and keep that position between you and the quarterback, and make the quarterback a lot more accurate, if that makes sense. Probably that suggestion on the fly to those.”
While the Chiefs don’t do a whole lot of game planning for preseason games, Simmons did at the very least feel prepared for the level of competition that the NFL brings.
“We train a lot,” Simmons said. “We train really hard. I’m going against the standard every day in Chris Jones and (George) Karlaftis. So, when you go against these guys, it’s different. But I wouldn’t say it’s overwhelming. It’s just more about, like I said, adjusting to what they’ll bring.”
With Simmons already looking ahead to what he can learn from this game and bring back to the remaining training camp practices, it’s easy to understand why Chiefs HC Andy Reid viewed his debut in such a positive light.
“I wasn’t screaming at him, so I figured he did okay,” Reid joked. “He looked like he had a solid day, especially for his first game; he’s been working his tail off. That kid never complains about anything; he just goes.”
Asked about handling feedback from others, Simmons made it clear that he’s trying to get on the same level as some of his current teammates. To do that, he understands that he needs to be coachable and pick up every little piece of information that could possibly give him an advantage. That includes learning to adjust on the fly.
“Yeah, I’ve been to Ohio State, and kind of the way you become like a guy like 52 (Creed Humphrey) or (65 Trey Smith), you have to soak everything in like a sponge,” He explained. “No matter if it’s going back to the basics or learning something that you’re totally uncomfortable with. So I try to keep my ears as open as possible, because I know anything as a rookie can definitely help me.”
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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Aug 10, 2025, where it first appeared.