José Joaquín Arcega-Whiteside ( ; born December 31, 1996) is a Spanish former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

and was selected by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in the second round of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

. He was also a member of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

Early life

Arcega-Whiteside was born in

Utebo Utebo () is a town located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. At the time of the 2011 census ( INE), the municipality had a population of 18,602 inhabitants and was the third most populous town of the province, only surpassed by Zaragoz ...

, Spain, on December 31, 1996, and moved to

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in the United States when he was six. He attended Paul M. Dorman High School in

Roebuck, South Carolina Roebuck is a census-designated place (CDP) in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,200 at the 2010 census. History The community was named for Revolutionary War Officer, Benjamin Roebuck. Roebuck is home to th ...

. During his career, he had 207 receptions for 3,779 yards and 38

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. Arcega-Whiteside committed to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

to play

College career

After redshirting his first year at Stanford in 2015, Arcega-Whiteside played in 12 games as a sophomore, recording 24 receptions for 379 yards and five touchdowns. As a junior in 2017, he had 48 receptions for 781 yards and nine touchdowns. As a senior in 2018, he had a season record of 63 receptions for 1,059 yards and 14 touchdowns. After the season, Arcega-Whiteside declared for the

College statistics

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Arcega-Whiteside was selected by the

in the second round (57th overall) of the 2019 NFL draft. In Week 13, in the 37–31 loss to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, Arcega-Whiteside caught one pass for 15 yards for his first professional touchdown. In 2019, he caught ten passes for 169 yards and one touchdown. In Week 6 of the 2020 season against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, Arcega-Whiteside caught his first two-point conversion and recovered a

Miles Sanders Miles Adam Sanders (born May 1, 1997), nicknamed "Boobie Miles", is an American professional football running back for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of t ...

fumble for a touchdown in the 30–28 loss. Arcega-Whiteside was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the Eagles on November 19, 2020, and activated on December 2. Overall, his second season was less productive, catching only 4 passes over 8 games played. Arcega-Whiteside entered the 2021 season fifth on the Eagles

depth chart. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on January 10, 2022. He finished the season with just two catches for 39 yards and no touchdowns through 16 games. During the 2022 offseason, Arcega-Whiteside converted from wide receiver to

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

Seattle Seahawks

On August 15, 2022, Arcega-Whiteside was traded to the

in exchange for cornerback

Ugo Amadi Ugochukwu Amadi (born May 16, 1997) is an American professional football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fou ...

. He was waived on August 30, and signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. Arcega-Whiteside was released on November 1.

Atlanta Falcons

Following a tryout, the

signed Arcega-Whiteside on May 22, 2023. He was released on August 29.

Toronto Argonauts

On January 8, 2024, it was announced that Arcega-Whiteside had signed with the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. He was placed on the reserve/retired list on April 24.

Personal life

Both of his parents, Joaquín Arcega and Valorie Whiteside, played professional basketball in Spain. Arcega is Spanish and Whiteside is an African American from South Carolina. Valorie Whiteside played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dou ...

and is the all-time leading scorer in women's basketball for the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

. She later played professionally in Europe and met Joaquín Arcega in Spain. Two of Arcega's uncles,

Fernando Arcega Fernando Arcega Aperte (; born 3 September 1960 in Ainzón, Zaragoza, Aragón) is a retired basketball player from Spain. He used to play as forward. Arcega earned 121 caps for the Spain national basketball team and played at three Olympic Gam ...

and

José Arcega José Ángel Arcega Aperte (born 31 May 1964) is a retired basketball player from Spain. Arcega competed in the men's tournament at the 1992 Summer Olympics. His brother Fernando also represent Spain in the Olympics. Arcega's nephew, J. J. Arc ...

, also played basketball professionally in Spain and represented Spain in the Olympics. While at Stanford, Arcega-Whiteside majored in international relations. He interned with the office of former Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

. Arcega-Whiteside and Brianna Lorena Garcia got married in June 2022. Garcia was a

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

dancer.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bioStanford Cardinal bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arcega-Whiteside, Jj 1996 births Living people American football tight ends American football wide receivers People from Inman, South Carolina Sportspeople from Spartanburg County, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina Spanish players of American football Spanish people of African-American descent American people of Spanish descent Children of basketball players Sportspeople from the Province of Zaragoza Stanford Cardinal football players Philadelphia Eagles players Seattle Seahawks players Atlanta Falcons players Spanish emigrants to the United States Toronto Argonauts players Canadian football wide receivers Spanish players of Canadian football