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When J.J. Arcega-Whiteside missed practice with a non-injury designation on Sunday, the wheels were turning. Did the Philadelphia Eagles cut him? Were they about to announce something? One day later, the mystery has been solved.
Arcega-Whiteside is heading to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Ugo Amadi, per NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero. The fourth-year cornerback out of Oregon was expected to be released, so the two teams essentially swapped cut candidates who needed a change of scenery.
Amadi had a decent showing in Seattle’s preseason opener – 79.3 grade from Pro Football Focus – but he had been way behind the eight ball at Seahawks camp. He was competing with Marquise Blair and Justin Coleman for the nickel corner job. The trade is a win-win. The Eagles had Amadi listed at “defensive back” on the initial trade announcement. He’ll play corner and safety.
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has been trying Josiah Scott out at safety, meaning that depth could be an issue at the position. Marcus Epps and Anthony Harris are still the starters, with Jaquiski Tartt, K’Von Wallace, Andre Chachere, and Jared Mayden behind them. The Eagles like to cross-train their cornerbacks anyway. Remember, Avonte Maddox got valuable reps at safety before morphing into the starting nickel corner.
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Amadi Vents Frustration, Deletes Tweet
Amadi vented his frustration over being on the chopping block earlier in the day. The former fourth-round pick wrote: “There will always be someone who can’t see your worth. Don’t let it be you.” That tweet was quickly deleted following reports of his impending trade to Philly. Amadi was clearly letting the Seattle organization know how he felt about them giving up on him. And, really, you have to respect that. He should have been unhappy.
Now he gets a fresh start and a chance to learn under Pro Bowl starters Darius Slay and James Bradberry. The 5-foot-9, 201-pounder was no slouch coming out of college. He earned the Lombardi Award – given to college football’s most “outstanding player and leader” – in 2018. He left Oregon with nine interceptions and 25 pass breakups in 51 games, including four career touchdowns and three pick-sixes.
NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein wrote that Amadi had the potential to be a “sub-package down safety with punt return talent” in his scouting report:
Amadi lacks a clean fit from a positional standpoint, but he’s a productive player with good toughness who improved each season. He lacks recovery burst and the height to handle downfield jump-balls and he lacks coverage twitch against slots, but he’s strong and physical in press and is a willing run supporter which gives him a shot as a sub-package down safety with punt return talent.
Gannon High on Current Defensive Backs
Gannon was asked to evaluate his current defensive backs room ahead of the preseason opener. Not surprisingly, the young coach expressed optimism and cited the way guys were able to correct their mistakes.
“I’ve really seen improvement from that whole room of doing that,” Gannon told reporters. “So, taking what we learn on the practice field into the meeting room, into the walk-through, the following practice not making the same mistakes. I think they have really done a good job cutting mistakes down.
“What you’ve seen in camp, they are doing a good job of covering and denying the ball, which is the No. 1 job description of a corner. That’s a good room. I like where they are at, and I am excited to see those guys plays versus some other people.”
Pro Football Focus was impressed with Tay Gowan’s performance on Friday night. He forced two incompletions and allowed only one catch on four targets into his coverage. He saw 29 snaps. Josh Jobe (24 snaps), Mac McCain III (35 snaps), and Zech McPhearson (24 snaps) saw a ton of action against New York. Look for Amadi to get reps at corner as the backup competition behind Slay and Bradberry continues to heat up.
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