KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nearly 13 months ago after a 30-17 victory over Detroit at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid embellished his postgame news conference with a nod to the men in the trenches for the offensive production.

“All of that,” he said, “because the offensive line played well.”

But in that 2 minute, 15 second-sequence before he got to his patented “time’s yours” cue for questions, Reid didn’t mention anything about what made the fine line play particularly conspicuous:

The unexplained absence of starting left tackle Josh Simmons, the Chiefs top pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

With the first question, Reid acknowledged Simmons’ apparently sudden disappearance by saying he was gone “for personal reasons.” But he kept it vague on a follow-up question.

Upon the follow-up to that, asking to clarify when they learned, Reid just glared for several seconds. Then he slowly shook his head before his expression turned into a sort of grimace-smile.

“Does it matter?” he said, then looking elsewhere for a question.

It was a curiously defensive response at a point when we might reasonably have expected an imminent return.

Next thing you know, though, Simmons missed the next three games with scant public explanation.

And no doubt that sequence continues to inform the tiresome topic more than a year later.

Because that confounding dynamic launched a narrative of doubt and skepticism that has prevailed ever since when it comes to Simmons.

Even as just about everybody has Simmons fatigue, and no one more than Reid, he has remained a focal point six games into a season in which he has yet to participate and may miss altogether.

Never mind that the Chiefs have stated that the back injury he suffered during training camp in St. Joseph is entirely unrelated to what took place a year ago:

As Simmons has remained out for months now when the club anticipated weeks, those episodes became conflated in the eyes of many.

When they at last put him on injured reserve last week, saying his rehabilitation had “plateaued,” Reid wanted to believe that would put an end to questions about the enigmatic figure — who has not been made available to speak with the media since his injury on Aug. 17.

But while Reid has spoken to Simmons’ status more than he normally would about a player who’s out (Patrick Mahomes in the rehab process was a major exception), that only goes so far … particularly without the perspective of Simmons or his camp.

That’s left a vacuum that invites endless speculation and interpretation of what’s happening out of view.

Reid clearly wants it to fade away and just focus on the season at hand. But the matter he doesn’t want to matter keeps resurfacing.

Like it did yet again Sunday with an ESPN report about a recent exchange between Reid and Simmons that led to Simmons being asked to leave a meeting to go get treatment.

Asked by The Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell for comment about that ESPN report after the brutal 20-3 loss, Reid didn’t deny the story but downplayed its relevance.

“Things happen,” he said. “That’s no reason that he was put on IR. He’s got a bad back. He’s got to get that worked out, and that’s the main thing. I’ll leave it at that.”

To some, the report was perceived as an aha moment.

As if it had to be causal, not coincidental, to Simmons being put on IR and revealed something profound.

Others construed it as some sort of message intentionally leaked from a team fed up with his approach or simply his lack of availability.

Like so much else when it comes to Simmons, though, it’s not exactly clear what the episode means in itself ... even if it sure wasn’t a great look for him.

Because the context most crucial to its meaning is entirely vague: Who wanted it out there … and why?

No doubt it’s quite a twist to have suddenly emerge from a club that stays in lockstep on messaging and has been hermetically sealed on Simmons.

But if you surmise it was generated by Chiefs’ brass, well, that almost certainly would require at least the tacit approval of Reid — who is exasperated by having to speak about Simmons any more than he has to.

That’s as evident now as it was on day one.

To the point where Reid has bristled in some form or another about Simmons more than any other single topic since he took over the Chiefs in 2013.

Consider Friday, the first time Reid was available after Simmons had been placed on IR and a day after head trainer Rick Burkholder addressed the media with a statement but took no questions.

Told that Burkholder hadn’t gone over other options for Simmons beyond rehab, Reid reckoned there was no reason to fill in more.

“Then he must not have wanted you to know what the options were,” he said, smiling before defending the process and Simmons’ work ethic.

Finally, Reid declined to elaborate on whether Simmons now would rehab with the team or elsewhere. Burkholder has the plan, he said, and “they’ll stay in touch” ... a term that Reid may or may not have meant so literally but didn’t seem entirely reassuring.

Before he left the room, Reid finished by hoping the subject would go away for at least the time being.

“This isn’t that big of a story,” he said. “Let’s focus on the football team and the guys playing.”

But ... it still is a big story.

Reiterated in a different way through the course of a miserable 20-3 loss to Seattle: The result illuminated the Chiefs’ vulnerabilities on the offensive line (and elsewhere) and underscored once more just why Simmons does matter so much.

So it’s going to at least loom until it’s reconciled, whether with his return to the field or his departure.

Being out of sight isn’t out of mind when it comes to Simmons.

Because the team distinctly is affected by his absence, and an air of mystery endures.

No matter how much Reid would rather talk about anything else — and no matter how much the 23-year-old Simmons’ future remains to be determined despite conjecture through the haze.

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