It only took Isaiah Simmons an entire offseason and 13 weeks of the 2025 regular season, but the former New York Giants linebacker is officially beginning his redemption tour. After two seasons in East Rutherford and a failed preseason stint in Green Bay, the former top-10 draft pick is taking the first steps toward a comeback.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Carolina Panthers are signing the 27-year-old to their practice squad amid a slew of ongoing injuries. It seems as though the Cats are the latest team to buy into the never-ending hype train that is Simmons.
It wasn’t all that long ago that the Arizona Cardinals selected the Clemson standout eighth overall in the 2020 Draft. They were sold on his unique blend of size, athleticism, and positionless potential. The 6-foot-4, 238-pounder could play inside, outside, in the slot, and everywhere in between, thanks to his freakish 4.39 40-time. Guys that big just aren’t supposed to move that fast.
Whether Simmons sticks in Charlotte or not remains to be seen, but Giants fans can’t help but feel like there’s some sort of time travel happening here. Maybe the Panthers think they’re getting the 2020 version of Simmons, not the guy who’s been bouncing from team to team ever since.
Giants fans know the Isaiah Simmons experience all too well
Coming out of college, the 2019 ACC Defensive Player of the Year was a consensus top-10 pick, with the Panthers even being linked to him before they grabbed Auburn DL Derrick Brown instead. That decision pushed Simmons to the Cardinals at No. 8, and his NFL journey has been rocky ever since.
The Giants tried to make it work. They tried the whole “Swiss Army Knife” thing, too. Move him around the formation, utilize him all over the field, let the instincts take over. The problem is, instincts don’t mean much if you’re not actually productive.
The Cardinals couldn’t make it work. Neither could the Giants. And Green Bay didn’t even bother trying.
Now it’s Carolina’s turn to fire up the DeLorean, hit 88 miles per hour on the dash, and hope they can unlock what the NFL thought it was getting five years ago. But if Simmons’ track record tells us anything, it’s that his time might unfortunately already be up.