Cardinals trade Isaiah Simmons to Giants for 7th-round pick

The Arizona Cardinals traded safety Isaiah Simmons to the New York Giants for a 2024 seventh-round pick, the team announced Thursday.

"I don't think it was an issue of what Isaiah did, he did everything that we asked him to do," head coach Jonathan Gannon said.

"Moving forward, we feel this is the best way we want to play football against other people. We're going to try and put the best guys out there that can function and do the best job."

Arizona selected Simmons eighth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Clemson product played linebacker for Arizona to start his career, but the team planned to move him to safety for the 2023 campaign.

The 25-year-old was drafted under the Cardinals' previous regime led by head coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim. Both were fired this offseason, as new general manager Monti Ossenfort hired Gannon to become the Cardinals' head coach.

Arizona now has Budda Baker, Jalen Thompson, Andre Chachere, Jovante Moffatt, and JuJu Hughes on the depth chart at safety.

It's unclear where the Giants will play Simmons. He was utilized all over the field at Clemson, getting reps at both safety and linebacker. He also saw time rushing the passer.

Simmons is entering the final year of his rookie deal with a $6.5-million cap hit, according to Over The Cap. He has 258 tackles and four interceptions in 50 career games.