{"id":1027614,"date":"2026-10-14T20:18:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T20:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1027614\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T20:18:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T20:18:25","slug":"kansas-city-chiefs-lt-josh-simmons-returns-to-practice-wr-rashee-rice-appears-unlikely-to-play-vs-chargers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1027614\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas City Chiefs LT Josh Simmons returns to practice, WR Rashee Rice appears unlikely to play vs Chargers"},"content":{"rendered":"

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) \u2014 The Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> returned from early their bye Wednesday with left tackle Josh Simmons<\/a> back on the practice field but wide receiver Rashee Rice<\/a> still sidelined by a hamstring injury he sustained in their most recent game against the Raiders.<\/p>\n

Given that Rice was a non-participant in practice, it\u2019s unlikely he will play in this weekend\u2019s game against the Chargers (0-5).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll just have to see how it goes. He\u2019s actually feeling pretty good as he goes here,\u201d Chiefs coach Andy Reid. \u201cWe\u2019ll see. Those things \u2014 you start dealing with hamstrings, it could be a week, could be two weeks. I know he\u2019s eager to get back in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact that Kansas City (4-0) did not put Rice on injured reserve is a good sign; that would have sidelined him at least four weeks.<\/p>\n

But that might be the only good news when it comes to the health of the Chiefs\u2019 wide receivers. Rice was hurt in the same game in which Tyquan Thornton<\/a>, in the midst of a breakout season, dislocated his ankle after a long reception. He was placed on IR and could miss the next four months, putting Thornton\u2019s chances of returning at all this season in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

The injuries to Rice and Thornton will put more pressure on Xavier Worthy<\/a>, a former first-round pick, who has flashed moments of brilliance but also disappeared in games. The only other wide receivers on the active roster are Jalen Royals<\/a>, a second-year pro who\u2019s struggled so far, along with fifth-round pick Cyrus Allen<\/a> and special teams ace Nikko Remigio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re ready. They\u2019ve put in the work,\u201d Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes<\/a> said. \u201cObviously we\u2019ve had guys in front of them with Tyquan going out there and playing great football. They\u2019ve had to put in the work in practice, and they\u2019ve been doing that. So now their number gets called and they have to step into their role and do their job. I\u2019m excited for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chiefs did sign Justin Watson<\/a> to the practice squad during their bye. He won two Super Bowl rings in Kansas City to go with one he earned with Tampa Bay, but has not played since hurting his Achilles tendon while with Houston last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of trust in those guys,\u201d Mahomes insisted, \u201ca lot of confidence in them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simmons, another first-round pick in last year\u2019s draft, has been out for nearly two months with a bulging disc in his lower back.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs initially thought the injury would sideline him for the remainder of training camp, but one week became two, and two has become five. And while he was back on the practice field Wednesday, it remains unclear when Simmons will be ready to play.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou start dealing with the back, you have to ease it back in,\u201d Reid said. \u201cWe\u2019ll just see how he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

The injury to Simmons forced the Chiefs to juggle their offensive tackles. Kahlil Benson<\/a> had won the starting job on the right side as an undrafted rookie out of Indiana, but he had to slide to the left while journeyman Jaylon Moore<\/a> moved into the lineup on the right.<\/p>\n

Benson has graded out well, particularly in the run game, but Moore has been a little more inconsistent. And that could leave the Chiefs with a decision one Simmons returns: put him at right tackle and leave Benson on the left side, or go with their original lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t even gone there at all,\u201d Reid said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See AP\u2019s full NFL coverage here <\/p>\n

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) \u2014 The Kansas City Chiefs returned from early their bye Wednesday with left tackle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1027615,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2063],"tags":[346,7,118,110,2438,2437,6,9],"class_list":["post-1027614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-chiefs","tag-football","tag-kansas-city","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-kansascity","tag-kansascitychiefs","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117441115134871958","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1027614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1027614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1027614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1027615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1027614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1027614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1027614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}