Chiefs coach Andy Reid has been known to eat a cheeseburger or two. But as Chiefs left tackle Josh Simmons talks about bulking up for this season, Reid doesn’t want him doing it with cheeseburgers.
Simmons told reporters this week that he weighs 285-290 pounds right now, and although he appears to be in great shape, he looks awfully lean by NFL offensive lineman standards. Simmons said he’s going to try to get up to 300 pounds by training camp, and Reid wants him doing it the right way.
“You don’t want cheeseburger weight,” Reid said. “He’s extremely athletic, and he’s gifted that way, so he’s able to get away with some things because of that.”
The things Simmons gets away with include blocking 300-pound men without weighing 300 pounds himself, and Reid said he’s not sure that Simmons even needs to get up to 300 pounds to do his job effectively.
“He’s kind of a unique character because he’s not a real big guy,” Reid said. “But he’s extremely strong and very athletic, so you always talk about leverage as a coach, and he does a good job with that, and he was able to function that way last year. He probably told you he’s going to put on weight, we’ll see. I don’t think that’s an absolute that has to take place. He looked pretty good out here.”
The 6-foot-5 Simmons weighed 317 pounds at last year’s Scouting Combine before the Chiefs drafted him in the first round. He’s lost significant weight since then, and he might be the lightest offensive tackle in the entire NFL right now: At 285 pounds he’d be lighter than every single offensive tackle who played in the league last year, according to pro-football-reference.com.
Simmons showed promise in his rookie year, but he missed nine games last season. The most important thing for the Chiefs is that he’s healthy and ready to protect Patrick Mahomes’ blind side, and they don’t think he needs to add any cheeseburger weight to do that.
On Thursday night, the Seahawks got their Super Bowl rings. Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III wasn’t there to get his.
In a post-draft appearance on #PFTPM, Walker said he intended to attend the ring ceremony. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, he’s the only member of the 2025 Seahawks who did not attend.
It’s unclear why Walker didn’t make the trip. The most obvious explanation is that the Chiefs’ mandatory minicamp concluded on Thursday. And his current priority is his new employer.
As it should be. Yes, it would be nice if the MVP of the Super Bowl had been present to receive the piece of jewelry commemorating the achievement. But Walker has moved on. As he said during the #PFTPM interview, he knew during the 2025 season that his future didn’t include playing for the Seahawks.
It was time to turn the page. To focus on the task at hand. Which consists of pursuing his second ring, while also helping quarterback Patrick Mahomes get his fourth.
Patrick Mahomes has another new deal, one that pays him incredibly well — but that can never reflect his full value to the NFL and to the game of professional football.
The contract, which runs through 2033, replaces a prior deal that was set to expire after the 2031 season. It’s being generally regarded as a replacement deal, not as an extension that would trigger the usual “new money” analysis, because the traditional “new money” analysis would lead to a stunning new-money APY of nearly $120 million per year.
So it’s a new deal, like every “extension” that any other player signs. The old contract goes away, and a new one takes its place.
Here are the full details of the contract that the Chiefs and Mahomes have signed, per a source with knowledge of the terms.
1. Signing bonus: $54.5 million.
2. 2026 workout bonus: $1 million, fully guaranteed (but must be earned).
3. 2026 base salary: $1.3 million, fully guaranteed.
4. 2027 offseason roster bonus: $30 million, fully guaranteed.
5. 2027 workout bonus: $1 million, fully guaranteed (but must be earned).
6. 2027 base salary: $27 million, fully guaranteed.
7. 2028 offseason roster bonus: $30 million.
8. 2028 workout bonus: $1 million.
9. 2028 base salary: $29 million.
(The entire 2028 compensation package is guaranteed for injury; $35.25 million is fully guaranteed at signing; the remaining $24.75 million becomes fully guaranteed in early 2027.)
10. 2029 offseason roster bonus: $30 million.
11. 2029 workout bonus: $1 million.
12. 2029 base salary: $31.5 million.
(The entire 2029 compensation package is guaranteed for injury; $30 million becomes fully guaranteed in early 2028, and the remaining $32.5 million becomes fully guaranteed in early 2029.)
13. 2030 offseason roster bonus: $30 million.
14. 2030 workout bonus: $1 million.
15. 2030 base salary: $32.75 million.
(None of the 2030 compensation package is guaranteed at signing. In 2029, $30 million becomes fully guaranteed. In 2030, the remaining $33.75 million becomes fully guaranteed.)
16. 2031 offseason roster bonus: $30 million.
17. 2031 workout bonus: $1 million.
18. 2031 base salary: $34.75 million.
(None of the 2031 compensation package is guaranteed at signing. In 2030, $30 million becomes fully guaranteed. In 2031, the remaining $35.75 million becomes fully guaranteed.)
19. 2032 offseason roster bonus: $30 million.
20. 2032 workout bonus: $1 million.
21. 2032 base salary: $37 million.
(None of the 2032 compensation package is guaranteed at signing. In 2031, $30 million becomes fully guaranteed. In 2032, the remaining $38 million becomes fully guaranteed.)
22. 2033 offseason roster bonus: $30 million.
23. 2033 workout bonus: $1 million.
24. 2033 base salary: $39 million.
(None of the 2033 compensation package is guaranteed at signing. The full $70 million becomes fully guaranteed in 2033.)
The contract has annual escalators of $2.5 million, from 2027 through 2033.
The eight-year, $504.75 million deal has an annual average at signing of $63.093 million. The deal includes $150 million fully guaranteed at signing, and $237.25 million in injury guarantees.
The deal pays out $56.75 million in 2026, $58 million in 2027, $60 million in 2028, $62.5 million in 2029, $63.75 million in 2030, $65.75 million in 2031, $68 million in 2032, and $70 million in 2033.
The deal isn’t heavily backloaded; however, the payout climbs systematically from $56.75 million to $70 million. By 2033, $70 million may be a bargain, relative to the market and the salary cap.
Chances are that, long before 2033, the deal will be redone. The Chiefs have already reconfigured the prior deal on multiple occasions, aimed at ensuring Mahomes’s cash flow will be competitive with the market.
Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt is not facing discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy after a domestic battery charge against him was dismissed.
The NFL found insufficient evidence of a violation of the policy, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
Merritt was charged in April after he had been accused of causing bodily harm to his daughter. He pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed in May.
The NFL sometimes imposes league discipline even if a player or coach does not face criminal charges, but in this case, Merritt is free to resume coaching.
The 54-year-old Merritt has been the Chiefs’ defensive backs coach since 2019. He has previously held NFL coaching jobs with the Cardinals, Giants and Jets, and spent time as a college assistant coach. He was a 1993 seventh-round pick of the Dolphins and had a brief NFL playing career before going into coaching.
Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice is currently serving a 30-day jail sentence for violating his probation, a fact made more complicated by Rice having recently undergone a procedure on his knee.
With the Chiefs’ offseason program coming to a close, head coach Andy Reid told reporters that head trainer Rick Burkholder has been more in contact with Rice, who has been able to do some rehab activities.
“Just making sure that everything was set there where he could do some rehab with it, and still do the time that he needed to take care of. So, he’s on top of that,” Reid said. “Thank goodness that they’re allowing him to do it. They’ve been great with that.”
As for Rice’s return to the field, Reid said he thinks the wideout will be ready for training camp.
“He gets out [of jail] here somewhere in this next week,” Reid said. “So, we’ll see where it goes from there. He’ll be back up here and working.”
Rice was on probation after pleading guilty to charges arising from a March 2024 street-racing incident in Dallas. He served a six-game suspension to begin the 2025 season.
