Mystery deepens over missing Chiefs star Josh Simmons after he was removed from team hours before Lions game

The Chiefs are embroiled in a mysterious and 'extremely unusual' saga involving rookie Josh Simmons, whose whereabouts remain a mystery nearly a week after he missed Kansas City's win over the Lions.

The offensive tackle was slated to play against Detroit on Sunday night. But around five hours before kickoff, he was listed as 'questionable' for 'personal' reasons. Three hours later, the Chiefs downgraded Simmons to out.

After his team's 30-17 win over the Lions, head coach Andy Reid said the first-round draft pick 'was gone for personal reasons.'

'We’ll see when he’s back,' Reid said. 'He’s got to take care of that then we’ll see where it goes from there. But we were aware of it.' 

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, however, revealed he was surprised by Simmons' absence. 'I didn’t fully know, obviously we had walk-through around noon or 1pm and he wasn’t there, so I knew something was up.'

It has been claimed that Mahomes asked about Simmons, only to be told by coaches that they 'didn’t know' where he was. 

Over recent days, precise details have remained under wraps with none of Mahomes, Reid or the Chiefs offering any explanation for his absence. 

On Wednesday, his head coach refused to comment on the saga, revealing only that Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is 'handling everything.' 'We'll leave it at that,' he said. Simmons was not seen during the brief section of open practice.

Mahomes, meanwhile, was asked if he had spoken with Simmons. 'I'll keep conversations between us but I'm always praying for all my teammates,' the quarterback said. 'I'll keep everything else private to us.' 

The Chiefs did not have any further comment - or have any plans to comment - when contacted by the Daily Mail.

CBS reported that the 22-year-old - who grew up in San Diego - returned to California before the Lions Game. NFL Network claimed Simmons was back for a 'family emergency.'

ESPN's Nate Taylor, who covers Kansas City, said 'it appears it could be family-related.' But the reporter said he didn't know 'definitively' if that was the case. 

He told the Only Weird Games podcast: 'He left at a time on Sunday that is extremely unusual... and I’m not sure when he’s coming back. As of right now, the team doesn’t know when he’s coming back.' 

Taylor added: 'I am led to believe that Josh Simmons left at an earlier time than what anybody knows publicly...

'But given whatever circumstances he’s dealing with, he felt it was necessary to leave at that time, which put the Chiefs in a difficult situation from a football standpoint.'

The ESPN reporter also pointed out that Simmons was listed as 'questionable' with illness before Kansas City's loss to the Jaguars last Monday night. 

He played but Taylor told 96.5 The Fan: 'I think that has to relate to his absence this past Sunday and ongoing... these things are related.'

The Daily Mail has also contacted representatives for Simmons for comment. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, previously told Outkick that it was a 'personal matter.'