The team is probably looking at the five-year NFL veteran as a primary special teams contributor.
The Green Bay Packers have already made one free agent move at linebacker, but on Monday with 10 days to go before the 2025 NFL Draft, they are looking into another veteran player who has experience at that position.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Packers are hosting free agent Isaiah Simmons on a visit on Monday. Simmons most recently played for the New York Giants, starting five games at safety over the past two years.
Simmons entered the league playing linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals, suiting up for them for three years after they made him the 8th overall draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. That was a position switch for him, as he was an All-American safety in college at Clemson. The Cardinals then traded Simmons to the Giants for a 7th-round draft pick in August of 2023 after declining his 5th-year option. He then returned to the Giants on a one-year, $2 million deal last season.
An impressive athlete, Simmons ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds at the 2020 Combine while measuring in at 6-foot-4 and 236 pounds. However, he has never quite fit in on defense at the NFL level. Although he started 27 games for the Cardinals, their willingness to move on from him in exchange for a negligible draft pick shows his lack of impact as a starting linebacker.
The Giants, meanwhile, moved him back to safety and used him extensively on special teams, giving him more than 350 teams snaps combined over the past two years. Simmons did earn NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the Giants’ 29-20 win over the Seattle Seahawks in week 5 last season, almost entirely thanks to him leaping over the line of scrimmage and blocking a would-be game-tying field goal that a Giants teammate then returned for a touchdown.
If Simmons were to sign in Green Bay, it would likely be for a veteran minimum or veteran salary benefit contract. Simmons would not be in line for a starting job, instead likely putting his impressive athleticism to use as a special teams contributor for coordinator Rich Bisaccia. There would also be an open question as to which position he would be assigned to on defense as well.
The Packers just signed linebacker Kristian Welch to a similar low-level free agent contract, likely counting on him to be a reserve linebacker and core special teams player. If Simmons does sign with the Packers, he may end up on a comparable deal and could give Welch competition on teams as well as push him for a backup linebacker spot.
