The Giants plan on using Simmons at linebacker, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.
The Giants acquired Simmons from the Cardinals on Thursday in exchange for a 2024 seventh-round pick. He started 37 of 50 games across three years for Arizona and tallied 258 tackles (181 solo), 16 passes defensed, four interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovered in the process. During that time he bounced around between linebacker and safety. It looks like the Giants plan on using him as the former when he arrives in New York.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Doesn't get fifth-year option
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The Cardinals informed Simmons on Monday that his fifth-year team option for 2024 won't be exercised, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Teams needed to make decisions on such options for 2020 first-round picks by Monday, and Simmons now will be playing out the final year of his first deal as a pro in the upcoming campaign. Through three seasons, he's played all over Arizona's defense, with the last two amounting to 204 tackles, 5.5 sacks, three interceptions (one for a touchdown), two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery across 34 games. Expect Simmons' versatility to be utilized again in 2023.
Simmons recorded eight stops (five solo) Sunday in a loss to the Broncos.
Simmons tied for second on Arizona with eight tackles, a mark he has hit in two of the team's past three games. The third-year linebacker has 74 tackles through 14 games on the campaign, so he'll need to make a big push over the final three weeks of the regular season to match last year's total of 105 stops.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Grabs INT in so-so performance
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Simmons recorded six tackles (two solo) and an interception in Monday's 27-13 defeat versus New England.
Simmons logged the first of three total interceptions in the game, picking off Patriots quarterback Mac Jones late in the first quarter. This marked the hybrid linebacker's second interception of the season and the fourth of his three-year career. However, he did not end up having that big of an impact Monday, as four of his tackles came after the Cardinals were already down 27-13 in the fourth quarter. Simmons has now accumulated 66 tackles, three sacks and six passes defended over 13 games this season, and he should have a chance to add to all of these totals while facing a Denver offense that will likely be without starting quarterback Russell Wilson (concussion).
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Stuffs stat sheet Week 12
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Simmons recorded eight solo tackles, including one sack and a pass defended during Sunday's 25-24 defeat versus the Chargers.
Simmons finished with a team lead in tackles while playing his second-highest share of Arizona's defensive snaps this season. The 6-foot-4 linebacker also logged his third tackle in the last five weeks, bringing down quarterback Justin Herbert late in the fourth quarter for a 13-yard loss on third down. Simmons now has 60 tackles, three sacks, five passes defended, one interception and two forced fumbles over 12 games this season, and he should continue to play a do-it-all role moving forward.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Continues to produce
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Simmons totaled eight tackles, including one sack, during Sunday's 31-21 loss to the Seahawks.
Through nine games this season, Simmons has a 13-tackle tally from Week 5 but also five others with three or fewer stops. However, he appears to have settled in over the last three outings, with 18 tackles, two sacks, one pick-six and a forced fumble that he recovered. Simmons' share of the defensive snaps may increase in the short term, as free safety Budda Baker is expected to miss a few weeks due to a high-ankle sprain. If that comes to pass, Simmons is a prime candidate to continue making his mark in box scores moving forward.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Logs first 100-tackle season
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Simmons compiled 105 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 17 appearances during the 2021 campaign.
Simmons didn't pace the Cardinals in any statistical category, but he was top five on the team in tackles, tackles for loss (seven), pass defenses (seven), forced fumbles (four) and interceptions (one). Like he was at Clemson, the 2020 first-rounder played all over the formation, logging 596 snaps at inside linebacker, 237 snaps as an edge rusher, 165 snaps at slot corner, 24 as an outside cornerback and finally two at free safety (including Arizona's wild-card game). While Simmons is entrenched at one inside linebacker spot for the Cards, a question remains over his running mate moving forward. Jordan Hicks, who is under contract for 2022, is coming off a third straight 100-tackle season, but the team invested another first-round pick in Zaven Collins back in April.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Limited by shoulder injury
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Simmons (shoulder) practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
One day removed from being listed as a non-participant on Tuesday's estimated injury report, Simmons is making progress through a shoulder issue. He's mostly hovered around 5-6 tackles per week, including six this past Sunday at Detroit. With 88 overall on the campaign, the 2020 first-round pick is pushing for his first 100-tackle season with three games to go. First, though, Simmons will have to ditch his designation ahead of Saturday's contest against the Colts.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Impressive season continues
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Simmons tallied eight tackles (four solo) in Sunday's 34-10 loss to the Panthers.
Simmons has seen the second most defensive snaps this season and has become a huge part of the Cardinals' defensive prowess. The 2020 first-round pick has totaled 67 tackles, three forced fumbles, one interception and four deflected passes over the past 10 games. Coming into 2021, Simmons was a wild card for the team as they were unsure where he would be used, but he has made a solid spot for himself as a middle linebacker.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Tending to shoulder injury
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Simmons (shoulder) was limited on Monday's practice estimate.
Simmons paced the Cardinals with eight tackles and also had a tackle for loss this past Sunday versus the Texans, giving him a team-leading 47 of the former through seven games. He's been the most consistent member of the team in the category, with a season-low three tackles back in Week 5 and a range of 6-to-9 every other week. Simmons hasn't been involved with a turnover since Week 3 -- he has two forced fumbles and one interception on the campaign -- so he's bound to show up in the box score outside of tackles at some point. First, though, he'll have to get past a shoulder injury in advance of Thursday's game against the Packers.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Compiles six tackles Week 6
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Simmons recorded six tackles, including one tackle for loss, during Sunday's 37-14 win in Cleveland.
Simmons actually tied for his fourth-lowest tackle tally of the season, but at the same time he logged 100 percent of the Cardinals' defensive snaps for the first time in his career. He's clearly developed into a mainstay next to fellow starting inside linebacker Jordan Hicks in the middle of this unit, and with 39 tackles he's just three behind Hicks for the team lead.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Forces fumble Week 3
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Simmons accrued six tackles and forced a fumble during Sunday's 31-19 victory in Jacksonville.
The tackle total actually marked a season low for Simmons, but he made up for it by forcing a fumble for a second consecutive contest. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Jaguars recovered the ball, but on the very next play Chandler Jones caused Trevor Lawrence to cough it up, and the premier pass rusher recovered it himself. Simmons has settled into a majority share of the team's snaps on defense, logging between 82 and 91 percent in each of the three games to date. The result has been a team-high tackle total of 23, which is one ahead of both Budda Baker and fellow inside linebacker Jordan Hicks.
Simmons recorded eight tackles and forced a fumble during Sunday's 34-33 win against the Vikings.
Through two games, Simmons leads the Cardinals with 17 tackles, which is tied for 16th most in the league. But he's supplemented his tackle total with an interception and now a forced fumble, a call back to his productive career at Clemson. The eighth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Simmons will be going after his former teammate Trevor Lawrence in Week 3 when Arizona pays a visit to Jacksonville.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Contributes across board as rookie
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Simmons posted 54 tackles (43 solo, 4.5 for loss), two sacks, two pass defenses, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 16 contests during the 2020 campaign.
The eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft, Simmons arrived in Arizona and found himself in a crowded LB corps. Once his rookie season kicked off, he didn't play more than 30 percent of the defensive plays in any of the first seven games, but after the team's Week 8 bye, he become more of a regular in the defense. Along the way, his versatility allowed him to see time at inside linebacker, outside linebacker, safety and slot cornerback en route to 33.9 percent of the snaps on defense. Depending on how the Cardinals proceed in the offseason, Simmons is a good bet to be a starter in 2021.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Busy in TNF loss
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Simmons racked up 10 tackles (nine solo) and one sack during Thursday's 28-21 loss to the Seahawks.
Simmons notched the first sack of his young career during Thursday's divisional loss and also recorded double-digit tackles for the first time. The rookie out of Clemson's opportunity came with veteran De'Vondre Campbell playing limited snaps while nursing a calf injury. Coming off such a strong showing, Simmons may have proven himself worthy of handling increased defensive snaps down the stretch.
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Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons: Could see snap count ramp up
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Coach Kliff Kingsbury relayed Monday that Simmons could log time at safety moving forward, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
The Cardinals haven't utilized their eighth overall pick much, as Simmons has yet to log more than 18 defensive snaps in a game. However, S Budda Baker (thumb) could miss time with surgery on tap, and S Chris Bango exited this past Sunday's loss to Detroit with a hamstring injury. Simmons is uniquely qualified to make the shift from linebacker to safety, as he often lined up all over the defensive formation at Clemson. Even if it takes him some time to adjust, Simmons can lean on his elite athleticism (4.39-second 40, 39-inch vertical) to help make the transition. This would be an intriguing way for Simmons to stay on the field in Week 4's matchup versus the Panthers and potentially beyond.
