Andy Isabella

Bills Reduce Roster To 53 Players

The Bills have been busy today, releasing a pair of offensive linemen, trading defensive end Boogie Basham to the Giants, and shifting Von Miller to the reserve/PUP list. The team eventually finalized their roster, cutting down their squad to 53 players:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Dean Marlowe was traded to the Bills last November, and the safety began his second stint with the organization after spending three-plus seasons with the organization between 2017 and 2020. The veteran ended up starting a pair of playoff games for Buffalo, collecting seven tackles and an interception. The 31-year-old re-signed with the Bills back in May.

A.J. Klein was another former Bills player added midway through the 2022 season. It was a whirlwind season for the veteran LB. Klein was released by Buffalo in March, and he ended up spending time with the Giants, Ravens, and Bears before returning to the Bills in November. He collected 11 tackles in six games before putting up zeros in a pair of playoff games.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/28/23

Here are today’s minor moves from around the league as we head into the weekend:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

  • Waived: OL Dylan Deatherage

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Waived: LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

  • Waived: OL James Empey

Mullen was placed on the NFI list two days ago. Apparently, his failure to disclose the non-football injury led to his release. Claimed off of waivers early into the offseason this year, Mullen has spent a good amount of time in Baltimore but has yet to see any game time. The Ravens hoped he might add some depth to their secondary, but with today’s transaction, the former second-round pick hits the free agent market.

Dantzler, a former third-round pick in Minnesota, also finds himself available in free agency after a short stint with the Bills. After signing with his second team of the offseason last month, Dantzler was waived with an injury designation.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/23

With a number of teams preparing for the start of training camp, a long list of players were placed on inactive lists today. We’ve compiled all of those and today’s other minor moves below:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Free Agents

Isaiah Wilson hasn’t had an NFL gig since he was released by the Giants in January of 2022. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the free agent lineman was slapped with a three-game suspension, but it’s uncertain what led to the temporary ban. Wilson was a first-round pick by the Titans in 2020 but got into only one game with Tennessee before getting shipped off to Miami. He was waived by Miami after showing up late to his team physical, and his practice squad stint with New York only lasted one season.

Max Garcia is an experienced addition to the Saints OL room, with the veteran having most recently started seven of his 12 appearances with the Cardinals in 2022. The 31-year-old has 59 games of starting experience, although Pro Football Focus was iffy on his production last year (63rd among 77 qualifying offensive guards).

Following a three-year stint in Cleveland, Terrance Mitchell has spent the past two seasons bouncing around the NFL. He got into 14 games (13 starts) for the Texans in 2021, finishing with 60 tackles and 10 passes defended. He spent the 2022 season with the Titans, finishing with 39 tackles in 11 games (five starts). 49ers fifth-round pick Darrell Luter Jr. is set to miss some time with a knee injury, providing Mitchell with an opportunity during training camp.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/14/23

Today’s minor moves in advance of the second day of Super Wild-Card Weekend:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/31/22

Today’s roster moves heading into gameday:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: G Kyle Hinton, DL T.J. Smith

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Ravens Waive LB Josh Bynes

The Ravens have once again parted ways with veteran linebacker Josh Bynes, according to Field Yates of ESPN, releasing the 33-year-old today. The loss is not a significant one to the Ravens defense considering Bynes has been inactive since October.

Bynes was introduced to the NFL as an undrafted free agent in Baltimore back in 2011. In his second season with the team, Bynes was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad following an injury to Ray Lewis but remained a backup behind starters Dannell Ellerbe and Jameel McClain. An eventual injury to McClain would grant Bynes his first career starts near the end of the regular season. Bynes would go on to make the final tackle of the Ravens’ Super XLVII victory.

Bynes was named a season starter in the following year after Lewis’s retirement, but he would eventually lose the starting job to McClain and would be placed back on the practice squad following the drafting of C.J. Mosley in 2014. Bynes was signed off Baltimore’s practice squad by the Lions and would eventually become a starter in Detroit, as well, finishing second on the team in 2015 with 82 total tackles.

After his time with the Lions, a short stay in Arizona would be followed with a second stint in Baltimore. He would follow that with his best career season in Cincinnati in 2020, when he would finish third on the team with a career-high 99 total tackles. Bynes would spend the 2021 preseason in Carolina before getting cut in final roster decisions. Now a journeyman, Bynes would return to Baltimore for a third time, finally getting an opportunity as a full-time starter. After a strong 2021 season, the Ravens re-signed Bynes to one-year deal for this season. A quadriceps injury in a Week 7 win over the Browns would take him out of the lineup and keep him inactive for the next seven games.

Luckily for Baltimore, its in-season addition of linebacker Roquan Smith helped ease the team’s loss of Bynes. Having operated for so long without Bynes at this point, his dismissal from the roster shouldn’t require much of an adjustment. Starters Smith and Patrick Queen are still backed up by Malik Harrison and special teamers Kristian Welch and Del’Shawn Phillips.

In an additional couple of roster moves, the Ravens have promoted quarterback Anthony Brown and wide receiver Andy Isabella from the practice squad as standard gameday elevations against the Falcons tomorrow. With star passer Lamar Jackson inactive for tomorrow’s contest, Brown will be elevated to perform backup duties behind fill-in starter Tyler Huntley. Isabella is making his Ravens debut and should provide depth to a receiving corps that currently shows Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, and Tylan Wallace all on injured reserve. Huntley will be passing to the likes of Demarcus Robinson, DeSean Jackson, newly re-acquired Sammy Watkins, James Proche, and Isabella.

Ravens Sign WR Andy Isabella To Practice Squad

OCTOBER 10: Putting an end to the confusion on this matter, the Ravens confirmed on Monday that they have indeed signed Isabella to the taxi squad. In a corresponding move, the team waived fellow wideout Bailey Gaither.

OCTOBER 9: SI’s Howard Balzer tweets that the Ravens have not, in fact, signed Isabella at this time. No agreement has been reported between he and any other team, though, so the underwhelming WR may still end up in Charm City. Regardless, this situation will be worth monitoring over the coming days.

OCTOBER 5: It didn’t take long for Andy Isabella to find his new squad. The free agent wideout will be signing with the Ravens, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (via Twitter). He’ll be joining Baltimore’s practice squad, per Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus (on Twitter).

Isabella was a second-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2019, and he spent his first three-plus seasons with the organization. After finishing the 2021 campaign with only one reception and starting the 2022 season with a pair of catches, the receiver was waived by Arizona earlier this week. He ultimately went unclaimed, allowing him to sign with any squad.

The 25-year-old figured to be a popular name on the free agent circuit, but that was mostly due to his draft stock and remaining potential. The wideout showed a bit of a promise during his first two seasons in the NFL, when he hauled in 30 receptions for 413 yards and three scores in 28 games. Isabella also had brief cameos in the return game.

In Baltimore, he’ll likely have to fight for reps. Even if you ignore the Ravens’ running backs and tight ends, the team still has plenty of receivers who deserve snaps, including Rashod Bateman (who is questionable for this weekend) and Devin Duvernay. Isabella will join a depth chart that also features Demarcus Robinson, Tylan Wallace, and James Proche.

Cardinals Waive WR Andy Isabella, Sign C Billy Price Off Raiders’ Practice Squad

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.

The Cardinals are signing Price off the Raiders’ practice squad. The team hosted the veteran center as a free agent in May, 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. This came during a rich receiver draft, which saw D.K. Metcalf, Terry McLaurin and Diontae Johnson chosen after Isabella went off the board on Day 2. The Cards shopped Isabella before free agency and then during the draft but found no takers.

Arizona drafted the 5-7 Moore in the 2021 second round and used their 2022 first-round pick in the Marquise Brown trade. Greg Dortch, who also goes 5-7, 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, though he has not missed any time yet, 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 the ex-Bill to IR. Kingsbury said (via Urban) Ford will not return to practice when first eligible this week; the former second-round pick is at least a couple weeks away from his practice window opening. Price will soon move into position as an interior backup in Arizona, his fourth NFL team.

Cardinals WR Rondale Moore To Miss Multiple Weeks

Cardinals wide receiver Rondale Moore sustained a hamstring injury in practice earlier this month, and he missed the club’s regular season opener as a result. Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, Moore is expected to miss several more weeks (Twitter link).

That news is not overly surprising, as the original report on the hamstring ailment described it as “serious.” Per Fowler, Arizona will exercise caution here but expects its second-year wideout to avoid IR and to return to the field within a month.

The injury came at an especially unfortunate time for Moore, who was in line for an increased workload in the wake of DeAndre Hopkins‘ six-game suspension and Christian Kirk‘s free agency departure. The diminutive speedster caught most of his passes behind the line of scrimmage in his rookie season, though he was expected to have an expanded route tree and to have more opportunities to operate in space in 2022.

There is still time for that to happen, because when Hopkins is reinstated, it would be fair to expect that he and draft-day trade acquisition Marquise Brown will operate outside the numbers and that Moore will assume Kirk’s role in the slot, which was the plan before Moore’s injury. Nonetheless, the team is also rostering Greg Dortch, A.J. Green, Andy Isabella, and Andre Baccellia, with Brown, Dortch, and Isabella all representing viable slot options. So any lost time is significant for Moore at this point.

Isabella, however, will also miss the team’s Week 2 matchup against the Raiders due to a back injury. Brown, Dortch, and Green will serve as quarterback Kyler Murray‘s top options as the Cardinals seek to rebound from their Week 1 blowout loss at the hands of the Chiefs.