Josh Simmons Out for Chiefs MNF Opener

Kansas City Chiefs left tackle Josh Simmons is out for Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium with a lingering back injury, and undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson is expected to start in his place. Simmons missed every practice this week. Chiefs Wire, ESPN, and KCTV5 all carried the same Week 1 stamp Sunday.

That is a rough opener headline for a Chiefs line that already had questions on the edge. Benson, out of Indiana, would be the first undrafted free agent offensive Week 1 starter of Andy Reid's Kansas City tenure dating to 2013. Jaylon Moore is expected at right tackle. Monday night at Arrowhead is not the soft landing most rookies get.

Conner out too; Hicks and Nwankpa step up

Safety Chamarri Conner is also out with a knee injury. Expect Jaden Hicks and the rest of the secondary group, plus Nwankpa, to take extra snaps when Denver's offense hits the field. Reid's update still expects Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Kenneth Walker III, and Chris Jones to play. Jones had been limited earlier in the week with a calf issue and cleared the expected-to-play bar in the latest coaching update.

Fantasy IDP rooms that banked Simmons as an OL streamer for MNF should pivot. DFS stacks that needed clean Mahomes protection just got a louder variable on the left side. Benson gets the biggest Stage One any UDFA tackle can ask for: Broncos, lights, Arrowhead, Week 1. Betting boards that priced Kansas City's offensive line as fully healthy need a quiet reset before Monday's window.

Monday night window at Arrowhead

Kickoff is Monday, Sept. 14 in the ESPN/ABC Monday Night Football window at Arrowhead. Chiefs fans who wanted a healthy Simmons for the home opener will watch Benson instead. The stars on the skill side and in the middle of the defense are still expected. The edge protection is the story until Simmons' back settles and he returns to practice.

Denver's pass rush will test whether Benson can hold the edge on early downs and in obvious passing situations. Mahomes still makes the offense go. Kelce and Walker still give Kansas City two ways to punish a soft box. The difference is who is lining up at left tackle when the Broncos pin their ears back.

Until Kansas City says otherwise, Benson starts left, Moore holds the right, and Simmons watches the opener from the sideline. Arrowhead still gets Mahomes. It does not get Simmons for Week 1.