Falcons bringing in former Buccaneer for a visit

Is Jordan Whitehead going to the Falcons?

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Jordan Whitehead may soon be suiting up against the team that drafted him. Selected in fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the safety out of Pitt went on to play 59 games for the Buccaneers from 2018-2021, accumulating 292 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and five interceptions. Whitehead may not have been a star player, but he was a notable starter on the team’s defense in 2020, during their dominant playoff run— Where he forced two fumbles and subsequent Super Bowl championship.

Whitehead just finished his second stint with the team in 2024. Jason Licht and co. re-made their former safety duo of Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead hoping the sequel would recapture some of the original’s magic, however, Whitehead’s return to Tampa was far from a return to glory. Playing in just 12 games, the fewest in his career, the injury-laden season was complimented by a lack of big plays when the safety was on the field— Whitehead failed to record a single sack or takeaway a year ago. When it became clear the team was going to be moving on from him this offseason, many fans wouldn’t have given it a second thought. He is a former fourth-round pick who was a quality starter for a few seasons with the team, however, was never a focal point of Todd Bowles’ defense, that had been brought back to try and rekindle past grandeur but could not.

Wednesday’s news may have some of those same fans turning their heads with a side eye towards their rival to the north.

The Atlanta Falcons, the team that has been by far the largest thorn in Tampa’s side over the past few seasons appears to be interested in Whitehead’s services. The Falcons have brought Whitehead in for a visit and would have themselves quite a nice trio of safeties, should they decide to add Whitehead to the fold. The issue that Jordan Whitehead in an Atlanta Falcons uniform presents to the Buccaneers quickly becomes far greater than just his ability to help a divisional rival win games or that he will tackling Buccaneers rather teams that play the Buccaneers.

Whitehead has been in the league seven years. Five of those seven seasons have been spent in Tampa Bay and four of those five have been played underneath Todd Bowles, as both a coordinator and as a head coach. Jordan Whitehead will be leaving Tampa Bay with an intimate knowledge of Todd Bowles, the players on his defense, as well as the schemes and strategies he likes to deploy. In what has consistently been a tight division race, the Buccaneers have already had their hands full with Atlanta in recent contests. Any added advantage for Tampa’s stiffest competition could be enough to tip the scales in favor of a new NFC South champion.

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