Training camp is a now-or-never situation for many NFL players, but football fans most often gravitate toward the young players who may be getting their one and only shot at making an NFL roster.
The Green Bay Packers, just like any other team around the league, will have their fair share of players meeting that description.
But every once in a while, a veteran comes through looking to revive his career. The Packers have one such player looking to make a mark on the defense. But it won’t be easy for the former No. 8 overall pick to make the roster, let alone crack the lineup.
Packers offer Isaiah Simmons one final opportunity to stick
Isaiah Simmons signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract back in April to join Green Bay’s defense. The former do-it-all defender hasn’t been able to make the same impression in the NFL as he did in his college days with the Clemson Tigers. As such, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and the Packers want to lean on his versatile skillset at one position, sticking at linebacker.
“I fully believe in Haf’s plan,” Simmons said in June. “He’s letting me just lock in and learn a small portion first before we even think about expanding to anything else. That’s something I really appreciate because I never really had that opportunity to really just hone in on one position.”
“That’s been huge for me. It’s something... that hasn’t been presented to me because my versatility, I feel like it’s a little bit of a gift and a curse, where they want you to do everything but, at the end of the day, I’m still a human.”
At Clemson, Simmons played everywhere, but primarily at safety. In the NFL, he mostly played linebacker with the Arizona Cardinals, the team that drafted him in the top 10 of the 2020 NFL Draft. But the past two seasons, the New York Giants tried him back at safety. He started just five games in those two years, as he played just 35 more snaps on defense than special teams in 2024.
READ MORE: The Packers are walking into a camp dilemma (and they created it themselves)
While Simmons and Hafley have a clear plan that the once-promising defender endorses, the pathway back to being a starting defender isn’t wide open. Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, and Edgerrin Cooper are the primary options at linebacker. All three were drafted by the organization and were largely productive last season. Simmons isn’t likely to crack the starting lineup as long as they are all healthy.
There is some room, especially given Simmons' athletic ability and willingness to play on special teams. Former third-round pick Ty'Ron Hopper is the only other carryover at linebacker from last year. Simmons only has to get past Kristian Welch, a journeyman special-teams player in his second stint with Green Bay, and undrafted free agent Jamon Johnson. If he does, Simmons would still be near the bottom of the depth chart at linebacker.
Still, even in a reserve role or working in some type of rotation where he can be used on passing downs, Simmons has to make the most of his opportunities in camp. After five seasons in the NFL with two organizations that expected bigger things from him, he can’t afford to lose a spot on the 53-man roster at the end of camp.