Cowboys Eyed as a Top Team for Speedy Former $20 Million 42-Game Starter
The Dallas Cowboys revamped the team’s defense in several last-minute deals at the NFL trade deadline. Dallas could also look to veteran free agents to add even more depth to the unit. Dallas has just a 4% chance to make the NFL playoffs heading into the team’s Week 11 primetime matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, per The Athletic.
This did not stop owner Jerry Jones from making significant moves at the NFL deadline, including acquiring star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox identified the top available free agents and each player’s best landing spot. The analyst is pushing the Cowboys as well as the Baltimore Ravens to make a run at former top-10 pick Isaiah Simmons.
“Isaiah Simmons was a first-round pick in the 2020 draft, but he has struggled to find a true position in the NFL,” Knox wrote in a November 7, 2025, story titled, “Best Team Fits for Top 10 Bargain Free Agents After Trade Deadline.” “A hybrid defender at Clemson, NFL teams have tried him at both linebacker and safety but have never seen truly impressive results at either position.
“The Green Bay Packers gave Simmons a shot this offseason, but he was released in late August and failed to sign with a practice squad. … Simmons would be a logical gamble for a team that regularly uses multiple safeties in a rotation or for one that could use an athletic run defender at the second level.”
Potential Cowboys Target Isaiah Simmons Is a Former Top-10 Pick in the 2020 NFL Draft
After a standout college football career at Clemson, Simmons was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Simmons inked a four-year, $20.6 million rookie contract with the Cardinals.
The defender also had a short stint with the New York Giants. Most recently, Simmons signed with the Green Bay Packers, but the linebacker was unable to make the final roster and was released ahead of Week 1.
Simmons’ NFL career did not quite live up to the hype as teams struggled to know exactly where to play the versatile defender. The former highly touted prospect spent time at both linebacker and safety. It just so happens Dallas could use help at both positions.
Isaiah Simmons Started 42 Games With the Cardinals & Giants
During his five NFL seasons, Simmons started 42 games for the Cardinals and Giants. Simmons’ best statistical season came in 2022 when the veteran posted 99 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions in 17 appearances for the Cardinals, including 13 starts.
The defender notched an impressive 4.39-second time in the 40-yard dash ahead of the 2020 draft. Additionally, the 6-foot-4, 238-pound defender posted a 39″ vertical. Heading into the draft, analyst Matt Miller (now with ESPN) described Simmons as a “unicorn.”
“Simmons is a true unicorn as a prospect,” Miller wrote for Bleacher Report in April 2020. “Evaluators are stumped on who to compare him to or even what his ceiling will be.
“A smart defensive coordinator will simply look at the matchup each week and let Simmons erase the opposing offense’s biggest threat. He’s a rare game-changer at the linebacker position and should be allowed to play multiple roles and alignments within a single game. If Simmons doesn’t succeed in the NFL, it will be one of the biggest surprises of the 2020 draft class.”
The Lightning’s collapse in the third period turned a promising start into a lopsided defeat
A very disappointing loss for the Lightning. Not just because they started so well and could have put the game out of reach. But it was especially disappointing because they allowed their play to dip so substantially.
Yes, some bad bounces went against them (for the second home game in a row). But they played a part in Vancouver’s rally from a 2-0 deficit. The Lightning lost the special teams battle. They committed some costly turnovers. They failed to tie up sticks in front of their goalie. They allowed three crucial goals in a 1:40 span early in the third period that thoroughly changed the complexion of the game.
The first period, though, was a different story. The Lightning dominated play. They held Vancouver to just one shot on goal and only six total attempts. The Lightning produced several good scoring chances, but they were unable to solve Kevin Lankinen until the final minute of the frame. That’s when Nikita Kucherov’s right-circle one-timer beat Lankinen at the short side post.
Jake Guentzel’s deflection goal early in the second extended the Lightning’s lead. But then the tide began to turn. Tampa Bay took two penalties before the halfway mark of the frame, and the Canucks scored on the second of those to cut the deficit in half. Vancouver won the faceoff to begin the power play, and Elias Pettersson’s shot from the slot led to Jake DeBrusk’s rebound goal at 9:26.
The Lightning failed to score on two late second-period power plays. A goal on either one of them would have re-established a two-goal lead before the period ended. Instead, it stayed a 2-1 game after 40 minutes.
The Canucks tied it when they received an early third-period power play. Similar to their other PPG, they won the draw to begin the advantage and scored soon after. Brock Boeser delivered a shot-pass from the left circle that Kiefer Sherwood deflected in the slot. The puck then bounced off J.J. Moser at the side of the net and bounced in at 4:11.
On the next shift, the Lightning turned the puck over in the defensive zone. MacKenzie MacEachern backhanded the puck from the slot to the net, and Linus Karlsson tipped it in. Less than a minute later, Drew O’Connor deflected in a Quinn Hughes point shot, extending the lead to 4-2.
A goal from Charle-Edouard D’Astous was negated due to a Vancouver challenge for a missed stoppage—it was determined Guentzel knocked down a puck with a high stick to hold it in the offensive zone. Shortly thereafter, MacEachern tipped a shot that caromed off D’Astous and into the net. An empty-netter from Marcus Pettersson finished the scoring.
Certainly, the Canucks benefited from some fortuitous puck luck. But they also earned their luck by having a willingness to shoot and get bodies to the front of the net.
The Lightning hope to have some injured players back in the lineup this week, perhaps as soon as their next game on Tuesday against New Jersey.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Kevin Lankinen — Canucks. 28 saves.
- Quinn Hughes — Canucks. Four assists.
- Jake Guentzel — Lightning. Goal.
