J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is switching positions, from wide receiver to tight end, league sources confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane first reported the news.
Arcega-Whiteside, 25, has had a disappointing run through the first three years of his career but this switch will give him the chance to stick at a position where the Eagles have a need.
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SIGN UP HERE Listed at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, Arcega-Whiteside has been working this offseason to put on weight and gain muscle mass. He has been very receptive to the move. The Eagles report for their offseason training program on Monday and JJAW will report as a tight end.
He’ll get the opportunity to learn under position coach Jason Michael, who once helped turn Mo Alie-Cox from a college basketball player into a tight end in Indianapolis.
Based on the Eagles’ current depth chart at the tight end position, JJAW might have a legitimate chance to make the roster.
The Eagles are set with Dallas Goedert as their top tight end but had undrafted rookie Jack Stoll as their backup for the second half of the season. And third-string tight end Tyree Jackson is recovering from an ACL tear suffered in the 2021 regular season finale. The Eagles also have Richard Rodgers and Noah Togiai on the roster.
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At this point, JJAW’s career isn’t about living up to his status as a one-time second-round pick. It’s about finding a way to stick in the league.
The Eagles see Arcega-Whiteside as an “F” tight end who might be able to create some mismatches in the passing game as he continues to improve as a blocker.
The Eagles used a second-round pick (No. 57 overall) back in the 2019 draft on Arcega-Whiteside out of Stanford. The idea was that the big-bodied receiver would be able to use his leaping ability to make contested catches the way he did in college, but that hasn’t worked out to plan.
In his first three years in the NFL, Arcega-Whiteside has played in 40 games with just 7 starts. He has a total of 16 catches for 290 yards and his only touchdown came back in his rookie season in 2019. Drops have been a problem.
Arcega-Whiteside has also dealt with several injuries throughout his three-year career. He missed eight games in 2020 and has played through other ailments even when he’s been on the field.
In 2022, he’ll enter the final year of his four-year rookie contract with a cap hit of $1.58 million.
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Under a new coaching staff in 2021, Arcega-Whiteside’s role was extremely limited. He played just 170 offensive snaps (15 %), the fifth-most among receivers on the team. But he did show ability as a special teamer (he played 229 special teams snaps in 2021) and became a steady blocker for the Eagles’ run-heavy offense.
Head coach Nick Sirianni really likes Arcega-Whiteside’s physicality and perhaps even hinted about a position change back in January when talking about the receiver corps.
“You have that blocking element of J.J.,” Sirianni said after the season ended. “J.J. did a really good job in his role this year of our enforcer. Of our guy that would go out and get blocks when we needed him to pave the way for the No. 1 rush offense in the NFL. And I don't want to say pave the way. We know our offensive line and our tight ends and our backs pave the way.
“But that is a very underappreciated position in the blocking wide receiver, because those sometimes spring five-yard runs into 15-yard runs or 20-yard runs or 8-yard runs into 28-yard runs.”
Now Arcega-Whiteside is going from blocking receiver to tight end. We’ll see how it all works out in training camp.
