Report: Jordan Whitehead Grew Frustrated With Bucs
June 3rd, 2022
Former Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead.
The popular and probably accurate narrative for former Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead bolting a playoff team one year removed from a Super Bowl championship to a total laughing stock of a franchise in the Jets — a team in the NFL sewer — was that the Bucs wouldn’t cough up enough Team Glazer loot to keep him.
But it seems Whitehead wasn’t all that keen on returning.
Whitehead tells Mike Kaye of Pro Football Network that he was frustrated with how Bucs coach Todd Bowles was using him. Or to be more precise, how Whitehead was not being used.
“I’m a team player, but I was frustrated,” Whitehead said Wednesday following a Jets OTAs workout. “I would come out on third down, sometimes. I just felt like I was making enough plays, and I was being a leader on the team. It just felt like I should have been in the game. … I’m a team player, and it’s a team-first mentality, but I definitely was frustrated. I think anybody would be.”
Whitehead’s explanation of playing for the Bucs wasn’t all bad. He noted Bowles, himself a former safety, seemed to have very high standards for safety play. And if the safeties were not doing exactly what Bowles wanted, he wasn’t shy in telling them so. And not privately, either.
But you know, Joe often says this on the “Ira Kaufman Podcast:” Winning is the greatest perfume.” You never heard this whining when Whitehead was here (partly because reporters were banned from the locker room because of The Sickness). Why? Because the Bucs were winning.
And Joe is very confident if Whitehead did moan to the local pen and mic club about playing time, Tom Brady and others would have put an immediate stop to it.
But let’s be honest here, if the Bucs paid Whitehead what he wanted, he would have been happy as a clam and not said a peep. But the penance he has to pay is getting that playing time with the Jets. …Careful what you wish for.
At least, it seems for Whitehead’s sake, he took his cheerleader girlfriend to New Jersey with him. Per Whitehead’s Instagram account, she traded in her Bucs cheerleader outfit for Jets gear when Whitehead arrived in the Garden State to sign his new deal.
(For those who missed it, Joe talked to Jets head coach Robert Saleh about Whitehead in March at the NFL Owners meetings.)
June 3rd, 2022 at 10:21 am
He grew frustrated with his role. Didnt want to come out on obvious passing downs and give his snaps to Edwards. This just reinforces that the Bucs like Edwards better against the pass. I dont think Whitehead wanting to play and not come out of the game is an indictment of the Bucs.
June 3rd, 2022 at 10:25 am
watched his OTA press conference, NY media asked him about TB12, he said he telling Zach Wilson to get with the TB 12 formula, he also praised Steve McClendon, Richard Sherman and Bowles. He compared the Jets young secondary to that of the Bucs, and how they learned so much from Sherman. There were times when he said th eword “we” when referring to the Bucs
June 3rd, 2022 at 10:41 am
Agree with Joe. He’d be quite content if the Bucs had coughed up the amount the Jets were willing to give him. Will miss his Lynch-like hitting capabilities though.
June 3rd, 2022 at 10:57 am
No player wants to come out of the game ever. Thats their competitive nature. Why is this even a story? Come on man
June 3rd, 2022 at 11:24 am
I loved Whitehead as a Buc, but there was a lot of “I” references after he claimed it was a team sport. It is. Add another reason Brady is the goat. All-time team leader. “It doesn’t work unless we’re all in it together.” -Big Boy Caprice. “Then it don’t work”- AB (BOOM!). Lol was watching Dick Tracy and came up with this lame analogy.
June 3rd, 2022 at 11:43 am
He would have made the tackle on Kupp to keep him in bounds to run the clock. I get Mike Edwards is a ball hawk, but Whitehead is a very solid and reliable player. Wish him the best
June 3rd, 2022 at 11:44 am
He’s hardly the first guy who wanted to play more. He loves Bowles…except when Bowles wanted to take him out on passing downs.
Whitehead is a thumper, for sure. Maybe Bowles thinks his weakness is vs. the pass.
June 3rd, 2022 at 11:44 am
I would bet good money that the REAL issue was about how much he was getting paid. No sane player would leave the Bucs to go to the Jets for any other reason.
There’s nothing wrong with that. These guys risk their health and if I was in their shoes I’d want to get paid as much as possible too.
Ali Marpet set a good example for many players in my opinion. Once you’ve made enough money to be set for life why keep playing and risk your health?
June 3rd, 2022 at 11:44 am
He did make some big plays though, caused a fumble in Green Bay playoff game that lead to a Bucs td.
June 3rd, 2022 at 12:01 pm
Good for Whitehead, getting paid. He has been overshadowed by Winfield but always delivered—one of the Bucs most dependable defensive players since drafted. I do worry about guys that size who play and hit so hard and can’t blame the Bucs for not paying up.
Sounds like Saleh wants him thumping even more. He might look like an All-Pro for a year then start getting injuries. Like Bob Sanders on the Colts.
June 3rd, 2022 at 12:09 pm
I’ll miss him.
June 3rd, 2022 at 12:30 pm
I do not remember Whitehead getting many interceptions. Edwards was a complete ballhawk who made the most out of his opportunties. He moved on, we got Neal who is like Whitehead but much bigger and can actually hurt you
June 3rd, 2022 at 12:55 pm
The Jets are on their way to be very good very soon.
June 3rd, 2022 at 1:22 pm
Not a surprise. Whitehead, after the Rams game tweeted out a complaint about being out of the game on the last drive, which he later deleted. Sorry Jordan, the better cover guy needs to be out there on 3rd down.
June 3rd, 2022 at 1:43 pm
Can’t pay everybody. Bucs lost Whitehead, Suh, JPP, McLendon & Minter from our SB defense. Only time will tell if we got better with their replacements.
June 3rd, 2022 at 1:43 pm
We choked letting him go, Edwards not what y’all think & misses a lot of tackles he let kupp get that crushing first down in the playoffs, whitehead wouldn’t have . Neal will start over edwards book it
GoBucs!
June 3rd, 2022 at 1:46 pm
Maniac Buc … ‘The Jets are on their way to be very good very soon’.
You MIGHT be right, but that’s what many have been saying about the Browns for a number of years. Lots of talent, but somehow unable to git ‘er done.
June 3rd, 2022 at 2:27 pm
I hear ya on whitehead not getting a lot of ints and maybe his weakness was pass coverage but those jarring hits that causes fumble but also causes a pass catcher hesitate when they saw whitehead coming is what we MIGHT miss. Neal SHOULD be able to replace his nastiness maybe even upgrade it
June 3rd, 2022 at 3:21 pm
He was taken out on the last play of the season and there was a complete breakdown, if that isn’t frustrating you’re not a competitor and I get it. Wish him the best, he got paid by the jets but still got Bucs cheerleader Corrine I’d say he’s sitting on top of the off-season world
June 3rd, 2022 at 3:43 pm
blackhead was removed by bowles the dermatologist…
replaced by hard hitting keanu neal, who also dates above the bar of team cheerleaders…
this is not the movie the replacements…
we have tommy b, not keanu reeves
June 3rd, 2022 at 3:44 pm
by the way i love that fuggin’ movie….
the replacements…
with keanu reeves and gene hackman
June 3rd, 2022 at 4:23 pm
Cant wait to see his numbers after this season lmao he’s a joke lol all of our safeties we have now will have better numbers than he will
June 3rd, 2022 at 5:07 pm
Let’s not get it twisted, Jordan Whitehead is a beast! The Bucs will miss him this season! Just wait…
June 3rd, 2022 at 5:09 pm
He came out of games, and wasn’t paid by the Bucs because they didn’t believe in him enough. The Jets believe he’s that every down player, and paid him. Time will tell.
June 3rd, 2022 at 5:32 pm
I agree with him, never understood Todd’s use of him
June 3rd, 2022 at 5:48 pm
Whitehead was a great 4th round pick…and outplayed what the Bucs could have paid him. With guns not seen since Michael Pittman and bone jarring hits…he’ll be missed. Going to the Jets is like going to a career graveyard. Saleh is an overrated cheerleader who could very well be gone after this season unless he turns the team around.
June 3rd, 2022 at 7:12 pm
We got frustrated when he tripped over his own feet and let Kupp stay in bounds in a PLAYOFF game. We also got tired of watching him miss tackles and get taken for a ride by receivers. Good luck on the worst team in the AFC East.
June 3rd, 2022 at 8:43 pm
Jordan Whitehead was a very good player for a 4th rd draft pick. But Mike Edwards is obviously the better pass defender – so I don’t know why Whitehead doesn’t see or understand that.
You can’t keep every good player when Licht continues to draft so well.
Jets paid Whitehead $7.5M this year – we got BOTH Keanu Neal and Logan Ryan for about 30% of that amount….
June 4th, 2022 at 8:05 am
Making more money for a loser is NOT GOING to be satisfying either. You’ll always make more playing for a Super Bowl team in the long run. GOBUCS!
June 5th, 2022 at 1:19 am
Neal can bring it on running downs. Logan and Edwards are better in pass coverage. I liked Whitehead but they have more than made up for his loss.
June 5th, 2022 at 3:21 pm
Every player has a right to chose what’s best for himself. Liked the guy but NFL careers are relatively short for most. Smart to get paid while you can. Every season has the risk of major injury so make the bucs while you can. The next game could be your last.