Isaiah Simmons has been the Arizona Cardinals star backer, but he has been scarcely a jack of all trades over his first three seasons.
It’s safe to say Arizona Cardinals star backer Isaiah Simmons has underachieved so far in his career, even if he’s made splash plays and has been a tackling machine - even if those splash plays are far and few in between and most of his tackles have come between four and five yards from the line of scrimmage.
One reason for Simmons' struggles? It’s not easy for such a young player to perform well when former defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, for reasons unknown, thought it was a good idea to play him all over the defense.
Simmons, listed as a linebacker, saw more time in the secondary in 2022 than he did at his natural position. Yeah, let that sink in for a second. Fortunately, young Nick Rallis, a rookie defensive coordinator, has shown in the early going that he has a better gut instinct than Joseph.
Arizona Cardinals coordinator Nick Rallis gets it right with Simmons
Rallis spoke extensively regarding Simmons, but the following quote implies how he will use the star backer. Check it out below:
"“Let’s make sure whatever we ask him to do first, he masters it. And then once he masters that, let’s master the next thing.”"Nick Rallis
Perhaps Joseph could have taken those words of wisdom from the NFL’s youngest defensive coordinator? If so, what’s not to say the Cardinals would have picked up Simmons’ fifth-year option? Perhaps the kid’s making more than just splash plays and earned a trip to a Pro Bowl or two.
We will never know, but if Rallis and head coach Jonathan Gannon believe it’s best to play Simmons at primarily one position this season and the kid excels, then myself and others around the NFL universe will take back the sheer possibility the Arizona Cardinals will trade the star backer.
And to be frank, I’d like to see nothing more than for Simmons to take over games in the desert. Maybe that happens under Rallis.
Source: Nick Rallis, Cardinals not rushing process with LB Isaiah Simmons by Tyler Drake, ArizonaSports.com