If you didn’t know better, you might wonder if the Arizona Cardinals were forced to replenish their roster in 2022 with only former members of the Kansas City Chiefs. Based on the NFL”s transaction wire, which shows all of the latest signings by the Arizona Cardinals, several former Chiefs are now competing together to make the Cardinals next year after signing reserve/futures deals on Wednesday.
Every team ousted from the postseason typically makes a few quick moves ahead of the long offseason to sign some players they like to futures deals. The players do not count toward the present roster but instead are holdovers of sorts for the new league year, when rosters expand to their 90-man offseason limit.
The Cardinals signed several such players on Wednesday but a surprising number of them will be familiar to Chiefs fans (although some more than others). It might make things a bit more comfortable for new players in Arizona to know others from their time together with the Chiefs.
Let’s take a closer look at the Cardinals’ newest additions and how these former Chiefs might help.
Andre Baccellia, wide receiver
Andre Baccellia reportedly ran a 4.28 second time in the 40-yard dash before the 2020 NFL Draft that caught attention when his mediocre stat line in his final year at Washington did not (29 catches for 314 yards). The Chiefs and Jags were two teams that came calling with offers and K.C. won out last summer but the depth was too great for Baccellia to break through.
Following his release from Kansas City, the Bucs also tried him out for a week on the practice squad but he was cut within days. He’s hung out on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad this season and the team must like his developmental potential because he’s back for another offseason with a futures contract.
Alex Ellis, tight end
Alex Ellis has hopped around the National Football League ever since he signed as a rookie free agent with the Tennessee Titans (after playing in Knoxville at the University of Tennessee, by the way). While he’s never found a long-term home anywhere, teams apparently like his floor as a player enough to keep giving him looks and sometimes year-long stays, as evidenced by his history with both the Jaguars and Saints.
Ellis landed with the Chiefs in 2018 and even played in two games after signing in the spring. However, he was injured and ultimately placed on IR by mid-October. Following that year, he caught on with the Philadelphia Eagles and that was it.
The Cardinals are the eighth team to give him a shot but you never know how a particular player might fit into a specific role dreamed up by a particular coach. Hope this is a good fit for Ellis.
Danny Isidora, offensive line
Danny Isidora will be a familiar name to some who remember the frustrating carousel of offensive linemen used in the 2020 NFL season by the Chiefs. It was a long season as the line was beset by injuries and a team talented enough to make it to the Super Bowl found themselves overwhelmed up front after patching things together for so long with so little.
Isidora was signed to the practice squad in 2020 in early September in hopes to back up Kelechi Osemele and Andrew Wylie inside. He was eventually promoted to the active roster by midseason although it was a short-lived promotion. He was on the team until December when the Pittsburgh Steelers signed him away.
Over the course of five NFL seasons, Isidora has played in 31 games with five starts and the experience to play either guard role. This feels like a smart signing by the Cardinals at an early stage like this given Isidora’s versatility and body of experience. His willingness to sign a futures deal like this gives the Cardinals some cheap security and depth along the offensive interior.
David Wells, tight end
Yes, it’s another tight end for the Cardinals (a running theme here). This time it’s David Wells, who was a practice squad addition for the Chiefs in 2018 who lasted the entire year and even came back in 2019 on a futures deal—in the same exact way the Cardinals are keeping him around.
Wells is a one-dimensional add for any team, but ask the Chiefs just how much they appreciate the blocking ability of Blake Bell these days and you’ll get an idea what the Cardinals like about Wells. Whether or not he can outlast the competition for a coveted active roster spot remains to be seen, but in a specialized NFL, if a player can pick one thing and be very, very good at it, he can generally find a way toward a long(er) career.
Deon Yelder, tight end
Of all of the names on this list, Deon Yelder is the most popular name that Chiefs fans will recognize. He’s also the third tight end, which is clearly a position the Cardinals are emphasizing this offseason.
Yelder originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Saints shortly after the 2018 NFL Draft, but he was released by mid-fall from the team’s practice squad and the Chiefs grabbed him a day later on waivers. From there, Yelder would stick in K.C. for a solid three seasons and even earned a Super Bowl ring with the championship squad in 2019.
Yelder would go on to play in 26 games in Kansas City and caught 4 touchdowns total in a very limited offensive role that totaled 10 catches for 86 yards over the course of three years. Yelder also contributed on special teams as a third-string tight end. He caught on for a few games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this year,, but it was a short stint that ended with his release in November. He also spent some time on the New York Giants practice squad.