Isaiah Simmons moving forward as DB, hopes to ‘master secondary’

TEMPE — Clarity and Isaiah Simmons’ role within the Arizona Cardinals defense are two things that have hardly gone hand in hand the past couple seasons.

Is he a linebacker, star backer, defensive back or all of the above?

Well on Tuesday, Simmons shed some light on where exactly he’s going to be hanging his hat under head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.

He’ll be rolling with the defensive backs in 2023. Now, it’s on him to really hone in on his craft.

Isaiah Simmons confirms he’ll be rolling with the #AZCardinals DBs moving forward and is looking to master the secondary. pic.twitter.com/hsMWJF3Cmc

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) June 13, 2023

“It’s a new defense and personally, I’d like to master defensive back first before I dive into going with the outside linebackers or whatever else could come about,” Simmons said Tuesday.

“I’d like to be a master at least at everything in the secondary before I get to go in other places.”

But while the confirmation of position was new, the realization Simmons was headed in that direction was already present.

Throughout this offseason, Simmons has worked primarily with the defensive backs room.

It’s a trend that was already in the works before the new regime got the keys to the training facility.

Per Pro Football Focus, Simmons last season worked as a cornerback or safety 513 times compared to 384 combined at inside (274) and outside linebacker (110).

The end result was 99 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions, seven passes defensed and two forced fumbles across 17 games (13 starts).

And there’s even more incentive for a similar showing from the DB in Year 4.

With Arizona opting against picking up Simmons’ fifth-year option this offseason, he heads into a contract year looking to up his stock.

There’s always the possibility Simmons re-signs with the Cardinals, but he’ll at least have an opportunity to test the open market next offseason.

Despite the financials, Simmons’ mentality remains unchanged as he prepares for the season.

“Personally, I go about every year as a contract year,” he said. “I just couldn’t imagine somebody would go out there and not try to have the best season they could possibly have.

“Regardless if I’m going to get paid after this year or whenever, I’m going to go out there and do the best I can do for my team and do whatever I can do.”

Cardinals DB Isaiah Simmons says his mentality hasn’t changed despite entering a contract year.

🎥: @Tdrake4sports pic.twitter.com/I33OdmcL54

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) June 13, 2023

EXTRA POINT

– Simmons on the departure of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins:

“It’s a business, so it was going to happen one day. But to leave me as a brother and as a friend, that’s probably what hurt me the most. He’s my closest friend here ever since Day 1. … He’s more so a big brother to me opposed to a friend.

“I hate to see him go but I’m really happy for what his future’s going to be. I know he’s going to be great wherever he ends up, wherever he lands. They’re lucky to get a guy like him locker room-wise, on the field-wise.”

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