Eagles waive former 5th-round receiver at final cuts

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It wasn’t that long ago that John Hightower had a major role in the Eagles offense, but now he’s already off the roster.

The Eagles on Tuesday waived Hightower at final cuts, league sources told NBC Sports Philadelphia.

If Hightower clears waivers, the Eagles will likely try to bring him back to their 16-man practice squad.

Hightower, 25, was a fifth-round pick last year out of Boise State. With impressive speed, Hightower cracked the lineup early in 2020 and even led the Eagles’ receivers in snaps for three straight games early in his rookie campaign.

But the production didn’t follow. Hightower did have two 50-yard catches as a rookie but not much else. He finished with 10 catches for 167 yards in his first NFL season. But Hightower caught just 10 of 29 targets — a catch percentage of just 34.5%.

By the end of his rookie season, Hightower was buried on the depth chart and even became a healthy scratch in three of the last four weeks.

This summer, Hightower was competing for a job but was quickly passed on the depth chart by fellow 2020 late-round pick Quez Watkins, who has earned a starter’s role for Nick Sirianni’s team. Hightower missed some time in training camp with a groin injury and while he did make some plays when healthy, he had an up-and-down month.

And it certainly didn’t help that Hightower doesn’t really do much on special teams. He didn’t play a single special teams snap as a rookie and former second-round pick J.J. Arcega-Whiteside at least showed some capability there this summer.

Not only did the Eagles release Hightower but they also waived last year’s leading receiver Travis Fulgham. Those two cuts make it seem very likely Arcega-Whiteside has made the team.

NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark contributed to this report.

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