Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh walking around the practice field.
NFL players don’t get much time off during the calendar year. From the middle of June through late July they get a four to six week block of time to do with it as they choose.
Some players take time away to hang out and others have chosen to intensify their workouts. That was the case for a brand new member of the New York Jets this offseason.
ALL the latest Jets news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Jets newsletter here!
Sweet Lord Have Mercy
While we wait to see which players will show up to training camp in shape, fans won’t have to worry about that for Jets defensive back Jordan Whitehead.
He tweeted out a picture of himself flexing with the caption, “y’all done turned me up 💪🏾.”
Y’all done turned me up 💪🏾
Whitehead showed off a full six-pack (maybe more) with bulging muscles and insane definition.
On the official online roster Whitehead is listed at 5-foot-10, 198 pounds. He has either added a ton of weight this offseason or this is the most swole “small guy” we have ever seen.
This inspired a lot of wild reactions on social media from fans:
Quite frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if Whitehead was made out of concrete.
A lot of people gave Whitehead a ton of credit for dedicating himself to the weight room even during his time off.
@jwhite_333 Putting the strong in strong safety
A Vital Cog to the Puzzle
The 25-year-old joined the Jets this offseason on a two-year deal for $14.5 million. While other safeties went for mega bucks this offseason, Whitehead was one of the bigger values to be had in free agency.
Due to the smaller contract and lesser known name among the fans, this move has gone completely under the radar.
Whitehead is expected to be a major cog in the Jets’ secondary shakeup. He can contribute in a lot of different ways and that versatility is attractive but that isn’t the main reason the Jets brought him in.
Gang Green was historically awful against the run in 2021 and one of the big reasons for that was some questionable safety play.
.@LegerDouzable called #Jets DB Jordan Whitehead (@jwhite_333) ‘the best tackling safety’ in the #NFL + fits into Robert Saleh’s mold of all gas, no brake + highlighted his versatility as a chess piece you can move anywhere: 🎥 @BleacherReport, @ConnorJRogers #TakeFlight
Whitehead is heralded as one of the best tackling safeties in football. With his ability to clean up, it should create a nice floor for this defense to curtail the massive gashes they suffered last season.
When you have good safety play there is a trickle-down effect on the rest of the defense. The corners can be a little more aggressive because they know their cheeks will be covered on the back end. The same goes for the linebacking crew as they are dissecting offenses and so on and so forth.
With no other significant addition to the safety room, the Jets are putting all of their eggs into the Whitehead basket for better or for worse. The only challenge for the Jets is finding him a competent sidekick to work with him during training camp at the other starting safety spot.
Follow @BoyGreen25 & @obermuller_nyj on Twitter for all the latest New York Jets breaking news, rumors, fresh takes, and more!
READ NEXT: Jets Connected to Former Super Bowl MVP in Free Agency