The one-year contract signed by linebacker Isaiah Simmons with the Green Bay Packers includes a signing bonus of only $167,500 and will have a cap number under $1,200,000 in 2025, according to details from Over the Cap.
The guaranteed money suggests Simmons will have to earn a spot on the 53-man roster this summer. If he doesn’t make the team, the Packers will be on the hook for only his signing bonus as dead money.
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Simmons’ base salary will be $1,170,000. His cap number is set at $1,197,500, which amounts to only 0.4 percent of the team’s total cap in 2025.
The deal is similar to the one signed by receiver and returner Mecole Hardman, who got a one-year contract worth $1,500,000 and $150,000 guaranteed.
Simmons, a top-10 pick in the 2020 NFL draft, played in all 17 games but made just one start and was on the field for 181 defensive snaps for the New York Giants in 2024. He produced a career-low 21 tackles and failed to create a tackle for loss, sack or interception.
Last year, Simmons got a $300,000 signing bonus and over $1.4 million guaranteed from the Giants.
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The Packers are deep at linebacker, with recent top-100 picks Quay Walker, Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper returning, Isaiah McDuffie back on a two-year deal and Kristian Welch coming back as a potential core special teamer. Simmons has played more special teams snaps over the last two years, suggesting he could compete with Welch for the role in 2025. The Packers need to replace Eric Wilson, the team’s best special teams player over the last three seasons.
Simmons has played in 84 career games. While inconsistent, he has produced 8.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, 21 pass breakups, five interceptions and nine forced fumbles.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Isaiah Simmons’ 1-year deal with Packers includes only $167K guaranteed