JJ Arcega-Whiteside had a rocky transition to the NFL in 2019, never meshing in Doug Pederson's offense. The rookie caught just 10 passes for 169 yards and one touchdown, not what you're looking for from a second-round pick.
With the Eagles overhauling the wide receiver position, his place in the team's future isn't exactly clear.
In a new interview with Spanish football podcast 100 Yardas, Arcega-Whiteside sat down for a lengthy interview in which he touched on, among other things, his rookie year and what the future holds.
I've transcribed a few interesting answers from the hour-plus interview below.
On his own injury struggles
Arcega-Whiteside talked about his, and the entire wide receiver room's, battles with injuries at multiple points in the interview, including this wild answer about needing help to go to the bathroom in the morning becaus he was so banged-up:
JJAW: Las lesiones fue el problema más grande. Porque yo estaba lesionado y las lesiones de todos los demás, porque yo también tenía algunas de lesiones, pero no tan mal con los otros. Aun así, cada mañana tenía que pedir a alguien que me ayudara a ir al baño, así de mal estaba.
INTERVIEWER: ¿En serio?
JJAW: Si, me costaba andar.
NFL
Arcega-Whiteside said he needed help because he couldn't walk, which sounds rough, and even though he was active for all 16 regular season games in 2019, it sounds like the physical nature of the league threw Arcega-Whiteside for a loop.
His relationship with Wentz
Arcega-Whiteside was asked about his relationship with Carson Wentz, after the two appeared to struggle to get on the same page for most of the season.
Estamos bien. Hemos estado hablando todo este tiempo. Él ha tenido una hija hace poco. Me ha estado dando consejos sobre perros. Estamos bien.
Pero sí, todo este tiempo ha sido difícil para mí y difícil también para él, porque él tiene sus jugadores, con los que ha estado jugando los últimos años, los All-Stars, los Pro Bowlers, luego las lesiones y yo también lesionado. Es difícil confiar en cualquier otro, si yo hubiera sido él también habría estado mirando a Zach Ertz y Dallas todo el tiempo.
Arcega-Whiteside says, because of injuries and inconsistency, it was tough to form on-field trust with Wentz. So he understood why Wentz threw to guys like Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, and he would've as well.
Trade rumors, and his happiness in Philadelphia
Arcega-Whiteside was asked about a number of trade rumors that swirled during the season - some, the interviewers admitted, were ideas from blogs rather than sourced reports - and whether he's happy in Philadelphia:
INTERVIEWER: ¿Tú estás contento en Filadelfia?
JJAW: Sí. Yo no he hablado con ningún equipo porque no funciona así. Me acuerdo de que después de algunos partidos de la preseason había equipos preguntando por mí. Pero claro, yo había firmado con Filadelfia.
Eso fue bueno, todavía hay interés, creo, pero por ahora estoy en Filadelfia. Me encanta la ciudad, la gente, son los fans más agresivos del mundo, en cualquier que deporte.
Arcega-Whiteside says that he remembers, after his productive preseason games last year, teams were asking about his availability, but he likes being in Philadelphia and loves the fans, who he thinks are the most aggressive in the world, in any sport.
With Jalen Reagor and Marquise Goodwin now in the fold, DeSean Jackson back healthy, and Alshon Jeffery possibly returning for another season, Arcega-Whiteside will have to make some serious strides in Year Two if he expects to have a more productive 2020.
We'll see.
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