Arizona Cardinals finally put the kibosh on the Andy Isabella era
By Jim Koch
The 62nd-overall selection of the 2019 NFL Draft never quite fit in with the passing attack of the Arizona Cardinals offense.
Three years ago, the Arizona Cardinals drafted Andy Isabella, a wide receiver who many believed would be an ideal fit for the team’s newly-implemented “Air Raid” offense. The University of Massachusetts product would potentially be utilized as a deep threat in head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s high-flying scoring attack.
Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out for Isabella in the desert. On Tuesday, Arizona elected to cut ties with the 25-year old speedster. What exactly went wrong during the three-plus seasons that Isabella spent with the Cardinals?
Actually, Cards fans may never know the reason why Isabella failed to prosper in Kingsbury’s wideout-friendly system. There were a couple of promising moments, but the 5 foot 9, 188-pound Isabella’s contributions to the squad were few and far between.
Arizona Cardinals opened up a roster spot by releasing Andy Isabella
The release of Isabella comes just days before wide receiver Antoine Wesley is eligible to be activated off of Arizona’s injured-reserve list. Wesley, a favorite of Kingsbury’s from Texas Tech University, missed the Redbirds’ first four games with a groin/hip injury.
As a rookie back in 2019-20, Isabella hauled in just nine passes for 181 yards and a touchdown. The lack of receptions was certainly disappointing, but the 21.0 yards per catch that Isabella averaged was not.
Things improved a bit the following year, when Isabella totaled 21 catches, 224 receiving yards and two scores. Last season, the Ohio native was credited with one measly reception for 13 yards. In his three appearances this fall for the Cardinals, Isabella caught just two passes for 21 yards.
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Arizona has now officially moved on from all three of the wide receivers they acquired during the 2019 NFL Draft. Fourth-round pick Hakeem Butler was waived by the franchise in September of 2020, and sixth-round choice KeeSean Johnson was handed his walking papers by the club in August of 2021.
(Statistics provided by Pro Football Reference)