Months after shopping Andy Isabella in trades, the Cardinals are cutting bait. The team waived the former second-round pick Tuesday, doing so to make room on the roster for Billy Price, per a team announcement.
The Cardinals are signing Price off the Raiders’ practice squad. The team hosted the veteran center as a free agent this offseason, when it was not known if Rodney Hudson would be back, but Price found his way to Las Vegas. He will move to the NFL’s other desert team this week.
Isabella never came too close to justifying the Cards’ draft investment. The former No. 62 overall pick has played in three Arizona games this season, catching two passes for 21 yards. Despite DeAndre Hopkins‘ suspension and the injuries to Rondale Moore and A.J. Green, the Cards did not turn to Isabella as a steady contributor. He will be available on the waiver wire.
A standout at Division I-FCS UMass, Isabella arrived in Arizona months after Kliff Kingsbury did. The 5-foot-9 slot receiver topped out at 224 yards and two touchdowns — on 21 receptions — in 2020. Isabella, who caught nine passes in 15 games as a rookie, was one of three receivers the Cards chose in that 2019 draft. The other two, fourth-rounder Hakeem Butler and sixth-rounder KeeSean Johnson, are out of the league. The Cards shopped Isabella before free agency and then during the draft but found no takers.
Arizona drafted the 5-foot-7 Moore in the 2021 second round and used their 2022 first-round pick in the Marquise Brown trade. Greg Dortch, who also goes 5-foot-7, became Moore’s primary replacement to start this season. It will be interesting if another team takes a flier on Isabella, whose rookie deal expires at season’s end.
The Bengals drafted Price in the 2018 first round but benched him in his second season. Cincinnati traded Price to the Giants for defensive tackle B.J. Hill last year. Price did not see any action for the Raiders. Hudson is battling a knee injury currently, while Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com adds guard Justin Pugh is also dealing with an injury situation. The Cards traded for guard Cody Ford before the season, but a subsequent injury led ex-Bill to IR. Kingsbury said Ford will not return to practice when first eligible this week, via Urban; the former second-round pick is at least a couple of weeks away from his practice window opening.
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