Giants' Isaiah Simmons Calls 'Shocking' Week 1 Benching 'Frustrating as Hell'

It's safe to say New York Giants defensive back Isaiah Simmons was surprised he didn't play a defensive snap during Sunday's season-opening loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported Wednesday that Simmons called his benching "shocking" and "confusing" while expressing his overall frustration with the situation.

"Hopefully they know what they're doing more than I think I know what I'm doing," he said. "So I'm just trusting the process and hopefully thinking things are best for the team. But personally, I love to be out there, s--t, every snap. I feel like there's a lot of different ways I can help the guys.

"So like I said, nobody ever wants to not be in there, so not being in the game plan was frustrating as hell, but I'm just controlling what I can control right now."

It's not like things could have gone much worse for the Giants if Simmons was out there.

After all, they lost 28-6 in a game that wasn't even as close as the final score indicated. Daniel Jones struggled on his way to 22-of-42 passing for 186 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. He was also sacked five times.

New York's defense was better than its offense but still allowed 109 total yards and a touchdown to running back Aaron Jones and two passing touchdowns to Sam Darnold.

The Giants initially acquired Simmons from the Arizona Cardinals via trade ahead of the 2023 campaign. He appeared in all 17 games in his first year with the team and posted 50 tackles, three passes defended, one interception which he returned for a touchdown, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

His versatility as someone who can play in the defensive backfield, as a linebacker and even as an edge rusher surely stood out to Big Blue, much like it did for Arizona when it selected him with the No. 8 overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft.

Yet he didn't replicate some of his best numbers from his time on the Cardinals, including when he finished with 105 tackles in his second season in the league.

The Giants still brought Simmons back on a one-year deal this offseason, but new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen didn't work him into the rotation in the first game.

Perhaps that will change during the upcoming contests against the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Browns. They are opportunities for both the player and team to bounce back, as Washington and Cleveland also lost their season-openers by double digits.