Cardinals still haven't found enough snaps for Simmons; more fans to be allowed at home

In his first public comments since it was learned edge rusher Chandler Jones will be lost for the season after undergoing surgery this week to repair a biceps injury, Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim said it was “heartbreaking” news, adding the outside linebacker is irreplaceable.

“I said this weeks ago, that there are certain players you cannot replace. You can’t replace Chandler Jones,” Keim said Friday morning during his weekly radio appearance on Arizona Sports 98.7-FM. “Now collectively as a group, we all have to step up, but you can’t replace Chandler Jones.

“Unfortunately, Deacon Jones in his prime is not out there. You just have to do the best you can.”

For now, the Cardinals plan to lean on a rotation of replacements that include Haason Reddick, Kylie Fitts and Dennis Gardeck, although the latter two each missed practice on Thursday because of a hamstring and foot issue, respectively. Meanwhile, the team’s other starting outside linebacker, Devon Kennard, is expected to be available this week after missing the past two games with a calf injury.

The Cardinals did sign outside linebacker Isaiah Irving off the Broncos’ practice squad and there’s an outside chance Keim could make a deal before the Nov. 3 trade deadline to bring in a more established veteran pass rusher to help offset the loss of Jones.

“There are so many things that go into a trade,” Keim said Friday. “Two teams have to be willing to make it happen, there is a question of why a team is willing to part with a player that you covet. Then there is the second part, which is the financial part, especially when it’s a one-year deal, giving up draft compensation for a guy for maybe 10 games with this COVID process, or are you able to benefit from multi years left on the contract?”

The Cardinals could add another player into the mix, should they be willing to insert rookie inside linebacker Isaiah Simmons into more of a pass-rushing role. He’s already played some safety and has been used in some blitzing situations.

“I just want him on the field,” Keim said emphatically. “That being said, I know there are things that can stunt a player’s growth. … That’s fine, if he can handle it. But it’s got to be significantly better than what you already have playing out there.”

Simmons, the eighth overall pick in this year’s draft out of Clemson, is averaging just 11.4 defensive snaps per game. That’s not nearly enough, according to former safety and NFL pro-personnel executive Louis Riddick, who will be in the ESPN broadcast booth when the Cardinals meet the Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

“I don’t know what they’re doing with him,” Riddick told The Republic during a phone interview on Friday. “That’s a little disappointing. They’re obviously not using him as a rusher. They’re using him kind of like a hybrid nickel linebacker-slash-safety-slash-coverage, off-ball guy.

“He wasn’t a dominant pass rusher at Clemson anyway, but you’d have thought he’d be worked into this rotation a little bit more than 11, 12 snaps a game. … They need to get him more exposure. It's lazy to say they need to be creative, but they need to have had a plan before he even got there and really right now, it doesn’t really seem like they have a plan.”

More fans allowed

The Arizona Department of Health Services has informed the Cardinals that the team can increase its number of spectators for the Oct. 25 home game at State Farm Stadium against the Seahawks from 750 to 1,200 in a move that will also provide season-ticket holders the opportunity to attend.

Seats from this limited allotment will be made available exclusively to season-ticket holders based on account seniority. Season-ticket members were to be contacted by email on Friday with specific details.

“Obviously, we’re thrilled to have fans and have season-ticket holders hopefully be in the building,” coach Kliff Kingsbury said on Friday. “First and foremost is health and safety and the protocols and we understand that, but anytime we have part of the Red Sea in there, it’s great for the players.”

Any determination concerning attendance for future home games will be made at a later date.

Perception vs. reality

League rules prohibit Keim from publicly discussing players on other teams as it pertains to possible trades. Nonetheless, he cleverly shot down a suggestion by ESPN’s Brian Barnwell in a Thursday story that proposed the Cardinals should deal Reddick and a third-round pick in 2022 to the Eagles for tight end Zach Ertz and a 2022 sixth-round pick.

Barnwell wrote that the Cardinals should be able to make the finances work, especially with Kyler Murray remaining a bargain based on his rookie deal.

“It would be ideal if he could rush the passer,” Keim joked Friday morning, referring to Ertz. “Listen, every week, every day, we go through these scenarios. We talk and it’s got to make sense in a number of (areas) — compensation, salary, salary cap, salary cap moving forward, the way we’ve got to analyze next year’s numbers.

“So again, a lot of things go into it. Would I like to play fantasy football where a salary cap doesn’t exist and contracts don’t exist and we just do whatever we need to do? Yeah, that would be fun, but I live in reality and unfortunately, there are a number of reasons why we can’t do certain things.”

Finding a solution

Cardinals defensive lineman Jordan Phillips wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that the NFL’s stricter, new COVID-19 protocols would make it impossible for him to attend his father’s funeral and also play in Monday night’s game in Texas.

“The NFL is wanting me to pick between playing in my Monday night game this week or going to my dad’s funeral with the new Covid protocols,” Phillips wrote in a tweet that has since been delated. “Can’t do both, these rules crazy.”

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill apparently rode to the rescue by coming up with a league-approved plan to make sure Phillips could attend the funeral and still get to AT&T Stadium in time for the game.

“Appreciate the front office for finding a solution to the problem,” Phillips wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “Thanks Michael Bidwill. Top notch organization.”

Keim called it “a great relief,” adding of Bidwill, “He does so many things in the community and for our players and our families that mean so much. So, hats off to the organization and most important, hats off to Michael and really how he treats people and how he runs this organization.”

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night from 7-9 on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.

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