Former Tennessee Vols player nearly pulled off an impressive NFL feat and he deserves to be recognized for it
Former Tennessee Vols defensive lineman Elijah Simmons didn’t receive good news on Tuesday, the final day for NFL teams to trim their rosters to 53 players. The former Vol was among the Arizona Cardinals’ final roster cuts ahead of the 4:00 PM ET deadline. Simmons, who played at Tennessee from 2019 to 2024, signed with […]
Former Tennessee Vols defensive lineman Elijah Simmons didn’t receive good news on Tuesday, the final day for NFL teams to trim their rosters to 53 players.
The former Vol was among the Arizona Cardinals’ final roster cuts ahead of the 4:00 PM ET deadline.
Simmons, who played at Tennessee from 2019 to 2024, signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent shortly after the 2025 NFL Draft.
The odds are always stacked against undrafted free agents, who typically face an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster.
Simmons, though, put himself in a great position to make the Cardinals’ 53-man roster. Each NFL team usually only has a few tough decisions where even the beat writers aren’t sure if a player will make the 53-man roster or not — Simmons fell into that category.
I’m sure Simmons is disappointed that he was cut on Tuesday. But getting cut doesn’t mean his NFL career is over. The former Tennessee defensive linemen will likely get a shot with another team, or he’ll land on the Cardinals’ practice squad. Simmons is clearly on the cusp of being on an active NFL roster — he just has to keep growing each day as a player and attacking each day with the intent to improve.
Simmons may have come up short in this round of roster cuts, but the fact that he was even in the conversation for one of the Cardinals’ final roster spots means that he had a great training camp and made a solid impression on the coaching staff. Simmons will get his chance in the NFL — he just has to keep pushing forward.
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