Just when you thought you could take a break from the NFL news cycle, the Green Bay Packers reminded us today that the NFL is a 365-day per year news cycle.
Isaiah Simmons tweeted an emoji from his Twitter/X account yesterday that may have hinted something was in the works.
As it turns out, the Packers and Simmons were close to striking a deal.
According to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, the Packers are signing Simmons today.
Simmons was the eighth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, taken by the Arizona Cardinals.
He is on his third team in five years after things did not work out with the Cardinals, and he was subsequently traded to the Giants.
The Giants allowed him to sit in free agency until now, and the Packers have decided to pounce after he visited the team shortly before the draft.
Simmons is an athletic marvel. He measured in at 6-foot-3 and 239 pounds at the Scouting Combine in February of 2020.
He ran the 40-yard-dash in 4.39 seconds and had a 39 inch vertical leap.
For an addition in late April, Simmons is as intriguing as it gets.
He has experience playing both linebacker and safety in his pro career.
When he entered the league the were questions as to where he could play. Those that liked him in the draft would insist that if Simmons did not fit a team’s system, they needed a better system.
To this point at least, that has not been true.
Still, there is plenty of talent to wonder what Jeff Hafley and Rich Bisaccia could do with an athletic marvel like Simmons.
As a rookie he started seven games and earned All-Rookie honors that year.
He had four forced fumbles in 2021, and picked off two passes in 2022.
Where he plays in Green Bay is a good question, since he’s been positionless. Later in Schult’z initial report, he said that Jeff Hafley plans to use him all over the field.
Of 181 defensive snaps for the Giants last season, PFF had him listed as a slot corner for 86 of them, and 73 snaps coming in the box.
In 2022 with the Cardinals he played in the slot, in the box, on the defensive line, on the boundary, and as a free safety.
“I would do everything in college,” Simmons said about his skillset.
“Just kind of like a Swiss Army knife, move me around because I’m able to show what I can really do. I wouldn’t say I’m really tied down to one position.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Packers will be a one-year deal.
It’s hard to envision the Packers giving him much in terms of salary, so this is a deal that comes with little to no risk on the Green Bay’s part.
Perhaps they view him as a potential key piece to their special teams.
Guys as big and fast as Simmons typically profile well to that phase of the game, and Simmons was one of the best players on special teams alst season with the Giants.