Isaiah Simmons 'very grateful' for New York Giants: 'They lit a fire under me'
Isaiah Simmons 'very grateful' for New York Giants: 'They lit a fire under me'
Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons was the eighth player selected in the 2020 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals. A mercurial talent, the Cardinals couldn't quite figure out what to do with Simmons. They tried him at linebacker and on special teams, but he just could not seem to recapture the spark and impact of his college days.
Simmons was traded to the New York Giants, where he dressed for every game the next two seasons, even starting in five of them. But the Giants also couldn't make Simmons fit.
The 6-foot-4, 238-pound linebacker/safety/tweener was found to be most useful on special teams. Last season, Simmons was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in the Giants' October 6 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
The Giants chose not to re-sign Simmons after last season. He was picked up by the Green Bay Packers this spring where he hopes to finally realize his full potential as a linebacker.
"I think really what I ran into most of my career is everybody wants me to do everything as opposed to letting me get really good at one thing first," Simmons said after Packers minicamp on Thursday. "I fully believe in Haf's (defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley) plan. He's letting me just lock in and learn a small portion first before we even think about expanding to anything else. That's something I really appreciate because I never really had that opportunity to really just hone in on one position.
"That's been huge for me. It's something … that hasn't been presented to me because my versatility, I feel like it's a little bit of a gift and a curse, where they want you to do everything but, at the end of the day, I'm still a human."
Simmons is ready to take on the next chapter of his career partly because the Giants gave him a chance to continue his NFL career the past two seasons.
"I'm actually very grateful for New York for what they did," Simmons said. "They lit a fire under me, and I'm ready to go."
The Giants are flush with natural linebackers and safeties these days. There was no way the Simmons experiment could have continued with the roster they have this year. He appears to be content, though, in his new digs in Green Bay. Maybe he will finally get his due.
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