Isaiah Simmons eyeing Week 2 win, not revenge vs. Arizona Cardinals
Sep 15, 2023, 4:20 PM
TEMPE — Isaiah Simmons was moved around the defense throughout most of his four-year tenure with the Arizona Cardinals until eventually he was moved completely off the roster in a trade with the New York Giants this past August.
Back playing linebacker — something he wasn’t so keen on doing entering the year with Arizona — in addition to safety, Simmons now has a chance at showing the new Cardinals regime just what they gave up on.
What he won’t do, though, is let his emotions get the better of him when the lights come. If were hoping for an old school Terrell-Owens-dancing-on-the-Dallas-star moment, you’ll have to look elsewhere, he told reporters Thursday.
The main goal in his eyes is to beat the team across from him, regardless of the franchise.
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“I’m not an emotionless person so I’m sure there will be some emotions flowing through me but nothing that’s going to affect me and make me do anything crazy,” Simmons said
“I’m not a person to go out there and be like, ‘Rah, rah, rah,’ so I’m not going to go out there doing that or try to make an extra play because then that’s when you end up hurting yourself in the long run.”
Simmons, a 2020 first-round draft pick, flashed potential and athleticism throughout his time in the desert.
He loaded up the stat sheet behind 258 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four interceptions, 16 passes defensed, seven forced fumbles across 50 games played (37 starts). The problem, however, lied in his inconsistencies from week to week and play to play.
Simmons had the potential to completely flip a game on its head, like his impact in the team’s wild comeback win over the Las Vegas Raiders last season.
But for the handful of “wow” plays, came a handful of “why?” plays, whether being out of position or failing to make what looked like the more routine tackles.
Still, he put a lot of blood, sweat and tears in over the years alongside a lot of the players still roaming the Cardinals defense, such as safety Budda Baker.
They’ll have an Arizona connection for life, but come Sunday, it’s the Cardinals vs. the Giants in the safety’s eyes.
“That’s little bro of course. He’s not really a teammate of ours this week, so there won’t be really much of anything until after the game,” Baker said.
“I love him, but at the end of the day, he’s a Giant and that’s who we’re going against so won’t be much words until after the game.”
