Ranking five notable bubble players on the Eagles training camp roster
4. player. 54. . . . J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
Could this be the year that the Eagles finally place J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Jalen Reagor in their rear-view mirror?
There isn’t a Birds fan walking that doesn’t know the story about the Philadelphia Eagles ignoring D.K. Metcalf during the 2019 NFL Draft and adding J.J. Arcega-Whiteside instead. What you might not know was this was Jeffrey Lurie’s idea. Nope, you can’t blame Howie for this one!
JJAW’s selection hasn’t turned out as Lurie or anyone else would have hoped, and that’s putting things mildly. Still, heading into year four, despite a position switch, a roster spot is far from a sure thing, and this time, where he was drafted and the details of his salary won’t be enough to save him.
54. . . . Jalen Reagor, wide receiver. 3. player
Part of Jalen Reagor‘s story that we don’t discuss is the immediate pressure that he was under following the J.J. Arcega-Whiteside snafu. More was asked of Reagor early than it probably should have been because Philly had gotten nothing out of JJAW.
Couple that with the fact that the man most of the Philly media and Eagles fans wanted, Justin Jefferson, was taken one spot behind Reagor in the 2020 NFL Draft. That made Jalen’s selection seem even worse.
In the end, things worked out. Weirdly, had Philly not taken JJAW or Reagor, they wouldn’t have landed DeVonta Adams and A.J. Brown. Take that for whatever you will, but as is the case with Arcega-Whiteside, Reagor’s in a bit of trouble. His spot on the 53-man roster is far from guaranteed.