John Simon was among the starters as the New England Patriots’ 2019 preseason opened last Thursday night.
He’d record a tackle on running back C.J. Anderson for no gain during the initial play from scrimmage, cutting from the weak side to the strong. He’d leap out of the tall grass to record an interception on quarterback David Fales midway through the second quarter. He’d finish having been in for 13 defensive snaps at Ford Field.
Danny Shelton, Adam Butler, Shilique Calhoun, Jamie Collins and Ja’Whaun Bentley joined Simon in the initial front against the Detroit Lions. And those initial glimpses were more of what Simon – on his fourth team and entering his seventh season in the NFL – had shown upon arriving in New England late last September.