Cardinals linebacker Isaiah Simmons has spent the last two years getting comfortable in the NFL and he has plans to expand his role in his third season.
That expansion isn’t just a further turn into the multi-faceted role that made Simmons a star at Clemson. It’s a move from being one of the guys to being in a leadership position.
“I definitely want to exert myself as a leader because that’s who I’ve always been,” Simmons said, via Luke Lyddon of KPNX. “I don’t really have a problem saying something to anyone because, at the end of the day, I am not trying to be anybody’s friend. We’re all trying to get to the Lombardi trophy.”
While Simmons looks at being a leader as a way to help the entire team, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury also believes that taking on more responsibility as a leader will benefit him as an individual. Kingsbury said that “to become what he wants to be, which is the All-Pro, Pro-Bowl type player, I think leadership is the next step for him” because it requires him to have a full grasp of what the defense is doing on every snap.
Should Simmons master that this year, good things should result for him and the defense as a whole.
