NFL defensive end Isaac Rochell had quite a whirlwind day online on Tuesday.
As part of the NFL’s Salute to Service campaign, the Raiders’ digital media team published a feature on Rochell and his brother’s service in the Air Force. In a short video and accompanying article on the team’s website, Rochell discussed his admiration for his older brother, Matt, who played football Air Force and is now an active-duty member of the United States Space Force. The article was published Monday and the team posted the video on social media on Tuesday.
Isaac Rochell recognizes his brother's military and athletic contributions to the Air Force
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 14, 2023
That’s when Rochell’s day got a lot worse.
Just three hours after the team posted the video feature, Rochell announced that he’d been cut by the Raiders. The irony of his release coming just after the franchise had celebrated his family’s military service was not lost on him.
This is objectively really bad timing. https://t.co/p9LWyB2PH6
— Isaac Christopher Rochell (@isaacrochell91) November 14, 2023
Rochell didn’t seem to blame the Raiders for releasing him so soon after sharing the Salute to Service video. After all, how closely does a franchise’s social media team work with its player personnel department? Still, it would have been a lot less awkward if the video had been posted on Monday when the article was published.
