The Cardinals traded linebacker/defensive back Isaiah Simmons to the Giants on Thursday morning for a 2024 seventh-round pick and General Manager Monti Ossenfort discussed the decision later in the day.
Ossenfort did not work for the Cardinals when they drafted Simmons eighth overall in 2020 and he wasn’t around for the position shifting that went on during Simmons’ first three years with the club. Since Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon joined the team earlier this year, Simmons was playing safety and he struggled during the team’s last exhibition game against the Chiefs.
Ossenfort said that game was not the reason why the Cardinals pulled the trigger on a trade, however.
“With all these decisions, it’s a culmination,” Ossenfort said, via the team’s website. “We won’t make a snap judgement on one game or one play or anything like that. It’s a culmination of since we all got here, in the spring, in camp and a decision we came to, and not a reaction.”
The Cardinals won’t have to wait long to see if the Giants have more luck finding a good fit for Simmons. They host the NFC East team in the second week of the regular season.
