Jordan Whitehead Making Cash In Contract Year
December 30th, 2021
Best season?
One of the many important free agents the Bucs may or may not have to pay this winter is starting safety Jordan Whitehead. And he picked a great time to have one of his best seasons.
Now Whitehead has missed three games with injuries this season and that will certainly cut down on his suitors. But if he plays the rest of the season like he did against the Stinking Panthers, someone will overlook missed games.
And we must remember he was dinged up last year in the playoffs as well. Whitehead has always been known as a hitter but not often considered a strong all-around safety.
If you follow Richard Sherman on social media or listen to his podcast, Sherman calls Whitehead one of the best safeties in the league. He certainly played like one on Sunday.
Per Pro-Football-Reference.com advanced stats, when teams complete a pass to a receiver when Whitehead has been targeted, that completion averages just 5.3 yards. That is by far Whitehead’s best of his career. When Whitehead is targeted, quarterbacks complete 62 percent of their passes. Whitehead has yet to be burned for a touchdown in 2021 and has tied his career-high with two picks.
His base salary is $2.4 million this year, based on Spotrac.com’s data. Joe is guessing that will increase wherever he lands this winter.
With Mike Edwards and Antoine Winfield both on rookie contracts for next season, does that make Whitehead expendable?
December 30th, 2021 at 12:41 pm
Another must keep guy. We need to keep as much as the young secondary together as we can. They are fragile as a group but Whitehead is the enforcer of the group. Also draft or add some competition to keep pushing them. Whitehead is always going all out and has slowly developed his coverage skills. Made big plays last postseason and I expect him to do that again.
December 30th, 2021 at 12:47 pm
arron stinnie
alex cappa
jordan whitehead
oj howard
will gholston
ronald jones
leornard fournette
antonio brown
ndamukung suh
ryan jenson
carlton davis
rob gronkowski
jason pierre paul
chris godwin
all free agents
December 30th, 2021 at 12:53 pm
“With Mike Edwards and Antoine Winfield both on rookie contracts for next season, does that make Whitehead expendable?”
Considering how many games all the safeties seem to miss over the last two years, I would say no
December 30th, 2021 at 12:54 pm
He’s really integral to our run fits, and he plays at full speed every snap, every game. Someone is gonna offer him good money, even if he’s not a prototypical center fielder in the mold of Edwards. It’s been great to see him grow as a player every year.
December 30th, 2021 at 12:58 pm
Pedigree.Reviss’cousin. Hometown aliquippa pa.
December 30th, 2021 at 12:59 pm
He’s the tough guy of the bunch. Definitely a keeper! His play last week was inspirational!
December 30th, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Just stabbin’ in the dark…
arron stinnie (depends on Cappa)
alex cappa (if Bucs grade Stinnie or Nick Leverett highly, then expendable)
jordan whitehead (keep so long as price is reasonable)
oj howard (bye)
will gholston (keep so long as price is reasonable)
ronald jones (Joe thinks Bucs have run out of patience)
leornard fournette (keep)
antonio brown (depends on Godwin)
ndamukung suh (keep)
ryan jensen (must keep, franchise is you have to)
carlton davis (he’s looking at a major payday)
rob gronkowski (keep if price is reasonable)
jason pierre paul (keep *only* with a cheap, incentive-laden contract)
chris godwin (must keep, give him OJ’s cash to help retain)
So in Joe’s eyes, there are only two must-have, gotta-keep players: Godwin and Ryan Jensen. Carlton Davis is iffy because there should be a bidding war for him.
Joe would be very inclined to franchise Jensen.
December 30th, 2021 at 1:16 pm
I think you’ll see the team use signing bonuses a little bit more freely than in the past, assuming Tom is on board for at least a couple more yrs. Godwin and CD3 are the prime candidates there. They’ve got like $32MM in cap space so they aren’t exactly strapped, but they’re going to need to strategically dole out that cash if they want to keep most of the core intact.
December 30th, 2021 at 1:18 pm
Cappa is gone. He was named a pro bowl alternate. Some oline needy team will pay him as a top 5 guard this offseason and the bucs will not match that. Thats why stinnie will be back because he will be much cheaper.
December 30th, 2021 at 1:24 pm
I remember telling one of the joes whitehead was more than a run stuffer.
December 30th, 2021 at 2:36 pm
Trajectory of franchise and decision making for draft and FA’s is all dependent on TB12 and what he does . Just win another SB and I guarantee you Brady keeps playing. If you do not win SB , just offer TB 12 2% of ownership if he signs 3 year deal at 30 mil per and I also guarantee he stays.
December 30th, 2021 at 2:37 pm
I doubt Su will be back. I expect him to retire.
December 30th, 2021 at 2:37 pm
I read speculation that he’s only going to be a $3m-3.5m/year salary. If so, there’s no way the Bucs let him go. Seems like safeties were making some huge money a few years ago, but that seems to have dropped off. I think to make those big bucks you need to be a coverage safety, basically a part-time corner, and that isn’t Whitehead. But as a safety, in this defense, he’s worth a lot more than $3-3.5m if that’s what he gets.
December 30th, 2021 at 2:54 pm
I see at least 6 they could let go …. plenty of room 👍🏼
December 30th, 2021 at 3:11 pm
Ndamukong Suh is not going anywhere. Suh is performing at All Pro type production. Suh is second in the league in TFL for DT’s behind only HOF’er Aaron Donald. Suh has six sacks and will get more before seasons’ end. Suh is his own agent so his salary is considerably higher due to no commission for agent. Suh has found a home here and will play for at least a couple more years barring injury.
December 30th, 2021 at 3:20 pm
After being injured most of his career and then to come out and play the way he did against Carolina speaks to his skills. If he stays healthy and that’s always a big if with him he is worthwhile to pay more and keep around. We need more players contributing the way he did.
December 30th, 2021 at 3:24 pm
Franchise tag Davis.
Bring back:
A.B.
R. Jones
R. Gronk
A. Cappa
A. Stinnie
J. Wells
W. Gholston
P. O’Conner
K. Minter
D. Delaney
A. Adams
Robert Hainsey replaces Jenson at Center (A. Stinnie will compete for starting Center job)
Say goodbye to:
C. Godwin
R. Jenson
L. Fournette
B. Gabbert
OJ Howard
JPP
N. Suh
S. McLendon
R. Sherman
We Will draft a WR and a RB in round #1 and #2. Interior D-line and a TE in rounds 3-4…
December 30th, 2021 at 3:26 pm
Not sure where people think we will have the cap space – we will be lucky if we can keep half of the list below
A lot of tough choices coming, we will likely have to find a couple of impact players in the draft. OverTheCap has us at 33 million in cap space for next year, Godwin alone would eat roughly half of that unless put a bunch of dead money into the future.
I really don’t see Licht making it a priority to hold onto these older guys given what has happened with injuries this year.
“arron stinnie
alex cappa
jordan whitehead
oj howard
will gholston
ronald jones
leornard fournette
antonio brown
ndamukung suh
ryan jenson
carlton davis
rob gronkowski
jason pierre paul
chris godwin”
December 30th, 2021 at 3:33 pm
Whitehead is good, not great so if we can bring sign him to a reasonable contract, I’d love to keep him. Keeping the guys you draft and know inside out is always better than starting over at the position.
December 30th, 2021 at 3:49 pm
Good projection Joe, but as unstable AB is off the field, he’s a keeper. He’s an absolute “buy” when you consider what little he’ll command on the free agent market, versus the potential contribution on the field. My guess is that other GMs realize that Brady is keeping AB in line, and while a super low price tag is attractive, AB was both injured and suspended this season. While he wasn’t on the field a lot, he was definitely worth every penny of his $3.1 million salary. I don’t see other GMs taking a gamble and paying more than that.
I think Godwin can be kept, but I think he’s no longer in the same golden ticket category that he was in last offseason. ACLs typically take 9 months to a year to recover, which means he’ll miss camp and multiple games next season. Though ACL surgery and rehab has really improved over the years, any major surgery carries a risk that the player will not be the same when he returns to the field.
I think JPP will likely be gone, unless he’s willing to take a late-career “prove you can stay on the field” cheap one-year contract. That’s how this game operates. I don’t think there will be much of a market for his services.
Sadly, I think it’s time to replace Suh. He’s really grown on me, but little shelf-life remains. Bear in mind, he’s a $6 million dead cap hit next season, which is where OJ’s presumptive cap savings goes. I’ll miss his intimidation factor when he’s on the field. He’s a smart mercenary, he’ll shop around to test the market, but I don’t think he’ll come close to matching his current salary. I’m willing to bet that Licht selects a DT in the first round, the draft is much deeper in DL talent this season than last (I’m betting on a CB in round two).
I think fewer of these players will stick around than you realize Joe. It isn’t just the market, it’s the cap space. While space can be created via the magic of cap accounting, there’s only about $32 million or so projected cap space for the Bucs.
December 30th, 2021 at 4:32 pm
Whitehead isnt a must keep player but would definitely like the bucs to keep him if possible looking too be such a good safety and safeties don’t usually break the bank
December 30th, 2021 at 7:14 pm
Everything depends; if Brady plays another year, and if ownerships priority is super bowl or bust.
December 30th, 2021 at 7:18 pm
I love how Whitehead is playing. He plays at 90 mph with his hair on fire. He is tough and definitely seems to spark this defense when he makes a big play. I would hate to see him leave. I don’t believe it was any kind of coincidence that when Whitehead started playing full speed the Bucs look like a much better, faster defense. I know it’s going to be tough with the Bucs having to roll out big dough to Godwin but I think they need to do everything they can to keep him.
December 30th, 2021 at 7:23 pm
Hey Joes, I know you need clicks but this beyond stupid. Jordan Whitehead has been a solid Buc both on and off field. Any indication he caught the Covid crud? No. Bowles will be back here as DC and Whitehead will be one of the many reasons why.
December 30th, 2021 at 8:04 pm
I don’t think it makes him expendable at all.
Winfield and Edwards don’t crack bones the way Whitehead does.
IMO- this defense is really at its best when all 3 are used throughout the game in various ways. Those 3 plus Dean, Davis and SMB seem to give Bowles the flexibility to execute the defense he wants. When other guys sub in, they seem to go into soft zone by default.