KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs left tackle Josh Simmons will not play in Monday's season opener against the Denver Broncos.
Simmons, the Chiefs' 2025 first-round pick, has missed more than three weeks with a lower back injury.
The player who is expected to replace Simmons is Kahlil Benson, an undrafted rookie right tackle from Indiana. Benson would be the first undrafted rookie on offense to start in Week 1 for coach Andy Reid during his tenure in Kansas City, which began in 2013.
Although he spent most of training camp at right tackle, Benson will be the lineman most responsible for protecting the blind side of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who will make his much-anticipated return after he spent the past nine months recovering from a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee, an injury that occurred Dec. 14, 2025.
"He's done a nice job for us," Reid said Thursday of Benson. "He's obviously shown us that he has the ability to play. We wouldn't put him in there if we didn't think that. We've all been through that. I think when we first got hired, we thought we probably were pretty good at it, so I want his confidence to be that and go out and play and just use his abilities."
Mahomes shared Thursday that he believes he will be able to perform Monday without any limitations.
"I've got trust in anyone that the coaches put out there because I know that they've worked their tail off to be at that spot," Mahomes said of Benson. "There'll be mistakes here and there, but at the end of the day, you've got to go out there and trust those guys and make the plays whenever the plays need to be made."
Jaylon Moore, a five-year veteran with experience at the left tackle position, is expected to start at right tackle.
The Broncos are projected to have one of the NFL's best defenses, a unit led by pass rusher Nik Bonitto and cornerback Pat Surtain II.
