Times have been tough for Stanford this season, and they could be a bit tougher than anticipated this weekend against Oregon State. Stanford will play this weekend’s game against the Beavers without one of its top wide receivers. JJ Arcega-Whiteside has been ruled out of action this week due to a right ankle injury.
Stanford head coach David Shaw told reporters Arcega-Whiteside will take the week off “Barring a miracle.”
“It’s not terrible. No broken bones. Everybody heals differently,” Shaw said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “We’ll see what happens early next week.”
Arcega-Whiteside suffered the right ankle injury in last week’s game against Washington, and he had to be carted off the field as a result. Although Stanford is taking on one of the Pac-12’s least intimidating passing offenses, the loss of the Cardinal’s top wide receiver still hurts Stanford’s second-ranked passing offense in the conference.
Arcega-Whiteside is Stanford’s leading receiver this season with 48 receptions for 754 yards and 11 touchdowns. The rest of the team has accounted for eight touchdowns in the passing game. With the senior out of action this weekend, Stanford will rely on tight end Kaden Smith and senior receiver Trenton Smith to carry the load as the top targets. Against the Beavers, Stanford should be able to survive this week, but how long the injury lingers for Arcega-Whiteside will be monitored closely.