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The Arizona Cardinals are not picking up the fifth year option of linebacker Isaiah Simmons per reports.
The #AZCardinals are not picking up the fifth-year option for former No. 8 overall pick LB Isaiah Simmons, sources say. He enters a contract year with a chance to make it count with a big season in coach Jonathan Gannon's defense.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 1, 2023
This should come as no surprise, as Simmons has wildly underwhelmed his first three seasons, starting his rookie season where he was only able to play 34% of the snaps.
Fast forward into 2022 and he upped it, but only to 81% of snaps played this season.
That was still fourth on the team, but his on field work left something to be desired.
The reality is that this also will continue to be something that the Cardinals fix with regards to investing.
They invested heavily in the off ball linebackers and safeties while really only making the move for Chandler Jones at edge risher and retaining Patrick Peterson at cornerback.
Now, they may not pay linebackers or even invest high picks in them, as Jonathan Gannon’s defense has shown to be able to develop and utilize linebackers better than what we saw in Vance Joseph’s defense.
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