Hightower was waived by the Chargers on Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houstonreports.
Hightower signed a reserve/future deal with the team in January after spending part of last season on their practice squad. He'll now have to pursue another opportunity.
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Chargers' John Hightower: Inks futures deal
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The Chargers signed Hightower to a reserve/future deal Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Hightower was signed to the Chargers' practice squad at the end of September after failing to make the Eagles' initial 53-man roster, but he didn't make any appearances during the 2022 campaign. The undrafted wideout out of Boise State played in 13 games as a rookie for Philadelphia, totaling 10 receptions on 29 targets for 167 yards across 346 offensive snaps, but he's seen NFL action in just one game since.
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John Hightower: Joins Chargers' practice squad
Rotowire
The Chargers signed Hightower to the practice squad Wednesday.
Hightower dealt with a groin injury early in training camp and was ultimately waived by the Eagles ahead of the 53-man roster deadline. However, now the 2020 fifth-round pick will get a new opportunity with the Chargers, who recently placed Jalen Guyton (knee) on IR and haven't had Keenan Allen (hamstring) since Week 1.
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John Hightower: Waived by Philly
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The Eagles waived Hightower on Tuesday, Chris McPherson of the Eagles' official site reports.
Hightower dealt with a groin injury early in training camp and didn't play in the Eagles' preseason opener, but he was on the field for the team's final two exhibition matchups. While the 2020 fifth-rounder seems to have moved past his injury, he was unable to secure a spot on Philadelphia's 53-man roster.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Dealing with groin injury
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Hightower won't practice Tuesday due to a groin injury, Zach Berman of The Athletic reports.
The severity of the injury is unclear, but the 2020 fifth-round pick will have to return to practice quickly if he has any shot of making the initial 53-man roster. Hightower played 346 offensive snaps over 13 games as a rookie, but he spent the majority of last season on Philadelphia's practice squad, totaling just 11 snaps during his lone appearance of the campaign -- Week 9 against the Chargers.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Signs contract with Eagles
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The Eagles signed Hightower to a future/reserve contract Thursday.
Hightower logged eleven total snaps in Week 9 for Philadelphia after spending most of the season on the team's practice squad. This is a severe drop-off compared to the wideout's 346 offensive snaps over 13 games played in his 2020 rookie campaign. The 25-year-old will have an opportunity to carve out a depth role on the team's active roster heading into the 2022 season.
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John Hightower: Returns from COVID list
Rotowire
The Eagles restored Hightower (illness) to the practice squad from the COVID-19 list Tuesday.
Hightower landed on the COVID list Dec. 28 after logging a positive test for the virus. Now, he can return to all usual team activities. The second-year pro has only appeared in one game this season.
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John Hightower: Hits COVID list
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Hightower has landed on the Eagles' practice squad COVID-19 list.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, Hightower tested positive for the virus. Thus, he will not be eligible to return to practice until he clears the NFL's health and safety protocols.
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John Hightower: Reverts to practice squad
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Hightower reverted to the Philadelphia practice squad Wednesday.
Hightower played two offensive snaps and nine special teams snaps Sunday. After catching 10 passes for 167 yards in 2020, the 25-year-old wide receiver has yet to make an impact this year.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Joins active roster
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Hightower was elevated from the practice squad Saturday.
A fifth-round pick by the Eagles back in 2019, Hightower was a surprise cut by the team this offseason only to rejoin the practice squad immediately after. The speedy wideout will make his first return to the active roster this season and could be asked to take on a special teams role to start.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Returns to action
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Hightower played 13 offensive snaps and five snaps on special teams in Thursday's preseason game against the Patriots.
Hightower had been dealing with a groin injury since Aug. 7, though he was able to return for the team's second preseason contest. Further confirming Hightower's healthy status was his absence from the team's practice report, which listed players who were out due to injury as reported by Tim McManus of ESPN.com. After being sidelined for just under two weeks, Hightower will turn his attention to winning a spot on the roster and will have to compete with Quez Watkins and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside for a role.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Likely to play Thursday
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Hightower (groin) is in uniform ahead of Thursday's preseason game against the Patriots, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Hightower sustained a groin injury during practice in early August and was held out of the preseason opener against the Steelers. The 25-year-old should be available to make his preseason debut Thursday as he competes for a spot on the 53-man roster.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Week-to-week
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Hightower is week-to-week after leaving Thursday's practice with a groin injury, the Eagles' official site reports.
It remains to be seen how long Hightower will miss, but a lengthy absence could hurt his chances of making the team's roster, Zach Berman of The Athletic notes. Hightower is competing with the likes of Quez Watkins and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside for depth slotting in the Eagles' wide receiving corps.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Posts 10 catches in rookie season
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Hightower caught 10 of his 29 targets for 167 yards across 13 games during the 2020 season.
Since Hightower often functioned as a downfield threat for Philadelphia, he didn't draw many high-percentage targets as a rookie, though he didn't help himself by dropping three passes. Hightower did most of his damage in the first half of the season when many of the Eagles' receivers were banged up, but he became a healthy scratch for three of Philadelphia's last four games, with fellow rookie Quez Watkins passing him up on the depth chart. Hightower will almost certainly have to fight for a roster spot in training camp this summer.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Fails to catch two targets
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Hightower didn't catch his two targets during Sunday's 30-16 loss at Green Bay.
The 24-year-old played 18 of 62 offensive snaps but was unable to make an impact in the passing game. Hightower has only one reception for one yard since Week 7.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Offensive role shrinking
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Hightower wasn't targeted during Sunday's loss to the Giants.
The 24-year-old played only one offensive snap and didn't have a reception for the second straight contest. Hightower is buried on the depth chart behind Travis Fulgham, Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward and Alshon Jeffery.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Shut out Sunday night
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Hightower did not catch any of his three targets in Sunday's 23-9 win over the Cowboys.
After catching a couple bombs over his past two games, Hightower got yet another deep target early in the contest but was unable to corral it this time. The last pass thrown his way was intercepted, so he had little chance to make an impact. Most importantly, the rookie fifth-rounder was only on the field for 10 snaps, a trend that will likely continue now that Jalen Reagor is healthy again.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Makes most of one catch
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Hightower brought in one of four targets for 50 yards in the Eagles' 30-28 loss so the Ravens on Sunday.
The rookie checked in second in receiving yards on the Eagles despite making just a single catch. Hightower's yardage tally was a career high, but even with the Eagles missing multiple pass catchers over the last several games, the 2020 fifth-round pick has disappointingly failed to make much of an impact. HIghtower will look to carry the moment from his big grab into a Week 7 Thursday night battle against the Giants.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Targeted six times in loss
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Hightower caught two of his six targets for 18 yards and a two-point conversion in Sunday's 38-29 loss to the Steelers.
Hightower saw a season-high six targets but was able to reel in only two on the day. The rookie ended up tied with Zach Ertz as the second-most targeted Eagles pass catcher behind Travis Fulgham. However, with Alshon Jeffery (foot) and DeSean Jackson (hamstring) nearing returns, the Boise State product's opportunities could take a hit going forward.
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Eagles' John Hightower: Comes down with illness
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Hightower (illness) didn't participate in practice Thursday.
After seeing just four targets and 34 offensive snaps in the Eagles' first two games of the season, Hightower increased the latter substantially this past Sunday versus the Bengals to 78 plays. That said, he was targeted just three times on his way to two catches for 19 yards. The Eagles' receiving corps has been hammered by injuries in 2020, with all of Alshon Jeffery (foot), DeSean Jackson (hamstring) and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (calf) also absent Thursday. As a result, if Hightower can get past his illness, he could be in line for even more passes from Carson Wentz this Sunday at San Francisco.
