The Arizona Cardinals had seen enough of Isaiah Simmons, and that became evident when they traded the former eighth overall pick for a seventh round pick, adding to their already full pile of 2024 selections. And wow, what a fall from grace for Simmons, who was supposed to become a star player on the Cardinals defense.
Earlier today, you may recall that I wrote a piece talking about three Cardinals players who need to be traded. Simmons was among those listed in that piece, and I projected he would likely go for “a pair of mid rounders.”
Clearly, that wasn’t the case, as Simmons was instead given away for a measly seventh round pick. This without a doubt, came as a shocker to the Red Sea. So why did the Cards trade him for such a cheap price? There are three potential explanations.
Why did the Arizona Cardinals only net a seventh rounder for Simmons?
1 - A seventh was all they could get
The likeliest of the three potential scenarios, but Isaiah Simmons had no real position, nor did he excel in any of them. In fact, if you look at his overall numbers, he was, at best, mediocre.
Sure, Simmons had his moments, like the pick six from last season or the forced fumble that led to a Cardinals win. But the bad outweighed the good - Simmons was never a game changer, and his coverage skills were beyond abysmal.
This indicates that perhaps they couldn’t get anything more than a seventh rounder, so instead of cutting him and getting nothing, they could acquire and use that pick to perhaps unearth a hidden gem in 2024. Overall, it’s not the trade anyone wanted for Simmons, but it beats cutting him loose if that was indeed the plan.