Cody Simon wants to be uncomfortable.
There will be a lot of that during his first week as a Cardinal. Simon is navigating his new life of being a professional while moving to a city he's never visited before.
The inside linebacker, however, enters the NFL with familiarity with the in-helmet communication. The NCAA approved a ruling in April of 2024 to allow coordinators to communicate with a player through the helmet.
"It was definitely a transition," Simon said. "I definitely learned a lot through helmet communication, and it just makes communicating even easier and faster. We've done it a lot at Ohio State and it's something I'm ready to do here now."
In his first season with the green dot (the sticker on the back of the helmet to represent the player with the mic), Simon led the Buckeyes defense to a National Championship victory, finishing the title game as the defensive MVP. Four months later, the Cardinals made him their fourth-round pick.
Jonathan Gannon is no stranger to the coach-to-player communication. During his time as a defensive coordinator, Gannon was the coach delivering the playcalls to his Mike linebacker.
"The adjustment period, if you have never done that, is real," Gannon said, adding former linebacker Kyzir White had no prior experience before taking the job for the Cardinals. "Does that give him an advantage? Maybe a touch.
"It's something that we'll look at and make sure they're functioning well and operating well, but that won't be the tough part for him."