The Arizona Cardinals announced Tuesday that they had released wide receiver Andy Isabella. The 25-year-old was waived by the Cardinals to make room for offensive lineman Billy Price off the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad.
This decision came up after several players suffered from injuries. One of the biggest concerns is Rodney Hudson. He has been dealing with a knee issue off and on.
Moreover, there was a possibility that Hudson would not be back. The Cardinals brought Price to the team this offseason when Hudson’s potential retirement was still possible.
The release of Isabella will allow Price to fill the hole at guard left by the injuries to Justin Pugh and Cody Ford. The 2018 first-round pick joined Arizona after playing in 58 games and 34 starts for the New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals.
The Cardinals released Isabella ahead of designated receiver Antoine Wesley’s return from injured reserve on Monday. Along with Isabella, fourth-string quarterback Jarrett Guarantano was released by Arizona following the return of backup quarterback Colt McCoy, which could also push third-string quarterback Trace McSorley to the practice squad.
The Cardinals then used the room left by Guarantano to sign kicker Matt Ammendola to the practice squad as designated kicker Matt Prater had received a right hip injury.
The @AZCardinals finally move on from WR Andy Isabella, cutting him to sign C Billy Price from Raiders practice squad.
Cardinals also sign K Matt Ammendola to practice squad with Matt Prater hurting:https://t.co/H9I0iXNrR7— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) October 4, 2022
Isabella struggles with Cardinals
Isabella struggled to find her footing after being selected in the 2019 NFL Draft by head coach Kliff Kingsbury. He was selected in the second round with the No.62 overall pick. Isabella was chosen over D.K. Metcalf, Diontae Johnson and Terry McLaurin. Even so, he had limited opportunities afterward.
He recorded just 33 catches for 447 yards and three touchdowns in three seasons in Arizona. This season, Isabella has appeared in three games with the Cardinals, catching two passes for 21 yards.
Isabella caught just nine passes for 189 yards and one touchdown in his first NFL season. Then, in the following season, he showed an improvement, catching 21 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
However, his playing time dwindled in 2021. Isabella appeared in only eight games with just 52 snaps and finished with one catch for 13 yards all year. He has played the fewest snaps of any receiver drafted in 2019 who has played at least 30 games.
Among the veterans who could be traded today: #AZCardinals WR Andy Isabella. The Cards have offered the former second-round pick to a few teams in recent weeks, sources say. Sometimes these things get done on Day 3 of the #NFLDraft.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 30, 2022
Isabella responds to his release
Isabella’s agent Bradley Bank told CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson that he planned on reaching out to teams during the free agency period.
“I think we have all concluded, including the Cardinals that it might be best for Andy to get a fresh start,” Blank said to Anderson in March.
As his playing time decreased, Isabella was granted permission to seek a trade. When the regular season began, Greg Dortch was getting more playing time than Isabella.
The former UMass Minutemen WR expressed his dissatisfaction during the preseason while putting in multiple effective performances, looking to move on if he wasn’t going to play with the Cardinals anymore.
“They stacked the odds against me, but that doesn’t faze me,” Isabella said. “I’m going to show up every day and do what I have to do. They can do whatever they want, they ain’t going to break me.”
The Cardinals were looking to trade Isabella and offered him to several teams ahead of Day 3 of this year’s draft, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.