The Arizona Cardinals could be staring down the barrel at a lost 2023 campaign, and they likely didn't make things any easier on themselves when they opted to send Isaiah Simmons to the New York Giants in exchange for a 2024 seventh-round pick on Thursday morning. The Cardinals sent away one of their more talented young defenders, and got very little in return for him.

Simmons was noticeably not giving enough effort in the Cardinals preseason loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and it appears as if Arizona's front office agreed with the criticism. Just days later, Simmons has gotten shipped to the Giants for virtually nothing in exchange, marking the end of his disappointing tenure with Arizona.

It's not totally surprising to see Simmons on the move, and the Giants did well to quickly swing a deal with the Cardinals for him. So with the trade now official, let's take a closer look at the details and hand out some final grades to see who came out on top in this interesting training camp move.

Giants receive: LB/S Isaiah Simmons

Simmons was selected with the eighth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Cardinals, and seemed set to be the future of their defense as a linebacker/safety hybrid. Simmons has elite size and speed, allowing him to seamlessly make explosive plays in the backfield to blow up running plays, rush the passer, and drop back into coverage. Simmons seemed like the complete package for Arizona.

While Simmons was solid through three seasons, he never ended up living up to the hype. The Cardinals could never really figure out which role they wanted to employ him in, and his production was somewhat inconsistent. Simmons had a strong 2022 campaign (99 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 TFL, 4 QB hits, 2 INT, 2 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD) but he never seemed to come close to reaching his potential.

The Giants get a player who is still just 25 years old, and has the ability to become one of the most dominant players in the league on defense. Allowing Simmons to embrace his versatility and play a number of different roles seems to be the best way to tap into his potential, but the Cardinals didn't really have any intention of doing that during his time with them.

New York has a tackle machine in Bobby Okereke leading their linebacker corps already, and another young safety from the 2020 NFL Draft in Xavier McKinney, so they have time to ease Simmons into their defensive scheme. It may take awhile for Simmons to ingrain himself in the Giants defense, but they have time to let him develop.

Simmons will be up for a new contract after this season, so the Giants will have to pay him if they want to keep him around, but giving up just a seventh-round pick in exchange is a price pretty much any team would have paid. Simmons still could develop into the superstar he was expected to be, and even if he doesn't, a seventh-round pick is nothing to fret over. This deal could end up being highway robbery for the Giants if Simmons pans out.

Final Grade: A

Cardinals receiver: 2024 seventh-round pick

On the other hand, the Cardinals have likely left many of their fans scratching their heads over this deal. Simmons was an extremely high draft pick just four years ago, and after one poor preseason contest, the team has decided to cut ties with him. Yes, Simmons was playing on an expiring contract, but none of this feels like a good idea from an Arizona perspective.

Simmons was likely going to be the leader in the Cardinals linebacker room in 2023, so moving on from him leaves an inexperienced starting crew of BJ Olulari, Kyzir White, and Dennis Gardeck to hold down the fort now. Arizona is likely rebuilding, so this isn't the end of the world, but it's clear that Olulari, who was a second-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is going to have some big expectations now.

Arizona has gotten themselves rid of having to pay Simmons in the future, but realistically speaking, how big of a contract was he going to command? Unless he ends up putting together a Pro-Bowl campaign in 2023, which didn't seem totally likely, he wasn't going to command an outrageous deal.

And that brings us to the return of just a seventh-round pick here, which makes this deal even more confusing. Getting something in return for Simmons makes sense, but a seventh-round pick is virtually nothing. This guy was the eighth overall pick of the draft, and there's a decent chance that the Cardinals either don't make this pick, or the guy they pick doesn't end up making the roster.

Maybe there's something going on inside the organization that we don't know about, but this feels like a pretty poor decision from the Cardinals. They appear to have given up on Simmons pretty prematurely, and to make matters worse, they got next to nothing in return for him. Expectations certainly aren't high in Arizona right now, and this deal won't help make things better anytime soon.

Final Grade: D+