Clemson pro Isaiah Simmons has 'fire' to make third NFL stop the charm

Isaiah Simmons says he is "ready to go" and make an impact in Green Bay. (Photo: Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Wednesday, June 18 2025

Isaiah Simmons says his last NFL stop has lit a fire under him, and he believes his new team has the plan to unlock the former Top 10 NFL draft pick.

Simmons is onto his sixth NFL season and newly-signed with the Green Bay Packers, coming off of just five starts in 34 games with the New York Giants in the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

He made 37 starts in 50 games with Arizona previously, which selected him No. 8 overall in the 2020 NFL draft after a Butkus Award-winning season at Clemson in 2019. After struggling to find a consistent role for him, Arizona traded Simmons ahead of the 2023 season.

Simmons played under 600 snaps defensively with New York.

"It has been frustrating but, ultimately, I try to treat everything as a lesson," Simmons told reporters in Green Bay. "You can either take it and build from it or you can let it hold you down. I'm actually very grateful for New York for what they did. They lit a fire under me, and I'm ready to go."

Simmons seeing some time at safety in Arizona and New York, former BC coach and Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has him targeted as a linebacker again.

“I think really what I ran into most of my career is everybody wants me to do everything as opposed to letting me get really good at one thing first,” Simmons said recently. “I fully believe in Haf’s plan. 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.”

Simmons said that "this is the most comfortable in a system" that he's been at the NFL level.

"We're excited about getting him," said Hafley, per Packers.com. "I loved him coming out of school; think a lot of us did. He's a big, fast, physical guy that can run, and he's made plays before, so we're hoping to put him in position to help him help us."