Tight end J.J. Arcega-Whitesideto’s time with the Philadelphia Eagles has come to an end following three seasons stint as the team had released him to the Seattle Seahawks for defenseman Ugo Amadi, the Eagles confirmed earlier this week on Monday.
A second-rounder in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Spaniard had most of his career in Philadelphia decorated with injuries that led to him producing less productive stats during his stay with the team.
As for Amadi, the Oregon Ducks alumnus will bring his starting experience to Philadelphia. There were also reports earlier that Seattle was keen on cutting the defenseman from the lineup. Now both players will start over in new locker rooms, they only have a little time left before the teams decided on their main lineup for the new season.
Arcega-Whitesideto’s career in Philadelphia
Arcega-Whiteside’s drafting was a follow-up to Philadelphia’s roster needs at the time, looking for a big-body receiver and the Spaniard was seen as a strong suit for the Eagles in the 2019 NFL Draft. Surely enough, the team had him 57th overall.
A product of the Stanford Cardinal, Arcega-Whiteside had struggled the most in his rookie career, failing to “gain any separation from DBs and didn’t win in traffic”, NFL’s Kevin Patra noted.
The 25-year-old was also struggling to maintain playing consistencies throughout the years. There were also concerns about him being placed on the reserve and COVID-19 list in late November 2020 as well as listed on the injured list in January this year.
Playing WR in his rookie year, Arcega-Whiteside appeared in 16 games and caught 10 passes for 169 yards. Dwindling performances followed him in the remaining seasons, posting four passes for 85 yards in 8 games in 2020 and making as little as two passes for 36 yards in 16 games the following year. His WR career stats with the Eagles are far from promising, recording just 16 passes for 290 yards in 40 games played.
Considering how he had performed, Philadelphia changed him to play TE in this year’s offseason. As the team is currently overhauling its lineup and receiver department, Arcega-Whiteside’s potential release is slowly turning into a reality.
Patra wrote that the Seahawks might move the Spaniard back to playing WR. Meaning that not only he will be getting a fresh start with the new team, but also another try to ace the role.
Amadi’s departure from Seattle
Amadi, on the other hand, was drafted by the Seahawks in the fourth round, 132nd overall in the same draft year as Arcega-Whiteside. An awardee of the 2018 Lombardi Award, he played 47 games and 12 of which were him playing as a starting player. Amadi also made 52 total tackles, 40 solos, and one interception in his career with the team.
The 25-year-old was rumored to be among those who would be released by the Seahawks in the first wave of the team’s roster reductions plan.
“The Seahawks plan to cut DB Ugo Amadi as part of their first wave of roster reductions, a source tells me. Amadi has been a rotational player at nickel and has been competing with Marquise Blair and Justin Coleman for that job. Teams have to trim their rosters to 85 by tomorrow,” Brady Henderson of ESPN’s NFL Nation wrote.
It was not until earlier this week that Amadi’s departure was confirmed.