An Eagles receiver just made the dumbest mistake of Week 5

JJ Arcega-Whiteside made a huge blunder before halftime against the Steelers. 

The Philadelphia Eagles are picking up wide receivers off the street, and they are still unwilling to give former second-rounder JJ Arcega-Whiteside some playing time. After his blunder against the Pittsburgh Steelers, we might finally have some clarity as to why Doug Pederson is willing to put converted college quarterbacks over him on the depth chart.

Arcega-Whiteside has a nice 37-yard catch near the end of the first half of Philly’s game against Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers, but his catch ended up as the last play of the first half. This is likely due to the fact Arcega-Whiteside took the time to celebrate rather than rushing the ball to the ref and trying to help the Eagles spike the ball.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside has been struggling with the Eagles

Arcega-Whiteside was picked in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft ahead of studs like DK Metcalf and Terry McLaurin. Arcega-Whiteside developed a reputation as a standout performer in the red zone during his time at Stanford, but that has failed to translate to the NFL, as that 37-yard catch was only his 11th in the NFL.

The Eagles clearly value speed and separation over size and contested catch skill, meaning that Arcega-Whiteside is already facing an uphill battle to get on the field. If he continues to cost his team points with brain farts like this, he might not make it much longer in Philadelphia.

Arcega-Whiteside is already on thin ice with this coaching staff, and choosing to celebrate instead of hurrying up to spike the ball isn’t going to win him many supporters in that locker room. Hopefully, JJAW can redeem himself with another big catch down the stretch in this close game.