Falcons Sign WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Place WR Jared Bernhardt On Reserve/Retired List

He had a tryout with the team during rookie minicamp. 

In a corresponding move, Atlanta placed WR Jared Bernhardt on the reserve/retired list. 

Bernhardt was a fun story as a former star lacrosse player who transferred to Division II Ferris State for a year to play quarterback, then made the Falcons’ roster in 2022 as an undrafted free agent. 

Arcega-Whiteside, 26, was drafted by the Eagles in the second round out of Stanford in 2019. He was in the final year of a four-year, $4.951 million rookie deal and set to make a base salary of $1.2 million in 2022 when the Eagles traded him to the Seahawks for DB Ugo Amadi.

He was cut loose coming out of the preseason and later signed to the team’s practice squad. The Seahawks opted to release Arcega-Whiteside later in the year. 

In 2021, Arcega-Whiteside appeared in 16 games for the Eagles and caught two passes on five targets for 36 yards.