Cardinals

“I think it’s all just that’s where my coaches want me to play,” he said. “Everybody’s paid to do their job out here, so I don’t know if I’m necessarily needed to do everything I needed to do in college.”

With no real offseason and the cancellation of the entire preseason schedule, it probably makes sense for Simmons to focus solely on the weakside inside linebacker spot next to veteran strongside inside linebacker Jordan Hicks, whom he said has been helping him out the most. Practice reps, once they begin in earnest in another couple of weeks, will be hugely beneficial if Simmons hopes to win a starting role in his expected camp battle with free-agent addition De’Vondre Campbell.

If the pandemic never occurred, however, who’s to say the Cardinals wouldn’t let him roam the defense as a multi-positional “monster back?” Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is on record saying Simmons could definitely handle it. Last year during his junior season at Clemson, Simmons took more than 100 snaps at six different spots and was a unanimous first-team All-American in addition to winning the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker.

For a guy who regularly studies tape of pass rushers such as his own teammate, Chandler Jones, and that of cornerbacks like Jalen Ramsey of the Rams and safeties like Tyrann Mathieu of the Chiefs, it doesn’t sound like Simmons will forever be satisfied playing just one position.

Right now, that isn’t a goal on his radar.

“Personally, in any way I can help the team I’m always up for it,” he said. “If I get into a situation where I need to play more than one position, if that’s what the coaches wanted me to do, then that’s what I would do. But as of right now, I’m just inside linebacker, so that’s what I’m 100 percent focused on.”

The football stuff, by and large, has always come easy for Simmons. At 6 feet, 4 inches and 238 pounds, he’s a physical dynamo with amazing strength, instincts and speed (he ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash at the combine). A self-described math nerd as a youth, it’s also always been easy for him to retain every single detail in a playbook.

Here’s how Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury described Simmons during a conference call with Arizona reporters on Tuesday:

“Isaiah has been impressive since we drafted him – in the meetings, his attention to detail, his retention of information. And they don’t make them much prettier when he walks in the building, so it’ll be fun to get him out there and watch him run around.”

More virtual meetings and less padded practices won’t make Simmons adjust his own personal expectations for his rookie season.

“I’m not going to adjust my personal goals just because we’re having a little adversity with this whole pandemic,” he said. “It’s either I’m going to achieve my goals or I’m not, at the end of the day. So, I don’t feel like I should lower my expectations or my standards for myself just because there’s a few obstacles in the road.

“I’m still pushing to be the best I can be and make the biggest and best impact that I possibly can for this organization.”

In the meantime, he’s taking COVID-19 seriously and following every safeguard, especially with his mother and brother in town. But it’s not only them he’s worried about. Simmons, speaking like a veteran and not a firstyear apprentice, emphasized the importance of being diligent against contracting the virus and bringing it into the locker room to keep everyone’s family safe.

“We definitely talk a lot about that because one thing that’s different between here and college is a lot of guys on the team, they’re going home to their wives and children,” he said. “It’s not just worrying about you; it’s worrying about your teammates and people around you.

“You could be impacting more than just you or the guy next to you if you’re out being careless or you’re out around a lot of people exposing yourself to possibly getting the disease. …. It’s kind of a lot to think about, the long line of who could be exposed to what, but it’s something that’s very necessary if we want to have a season this year.”

The Cardinals don’t have to worry about Simmons breaking any socialdistancing rules. He says he’s a “homebody,” just “a chill, stay-at-home kind of guy.” “Especially with the heat around here,” Simmons said, “I don’t think I to go outside.”