If former starting safety and Super Bowl champion Jordan Whitehead is truly ready to play in the NFL again, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers might not want to let him go elsewhere.
Eighteen months following a car accident that resulted in a severe neck injury, Whitehead has reportedly been cleared medically for a possible return and is already drawing interest from several teams.
“Veteran S Jordan Whitehead has been fully cleared to resume his football career post-neck surgery by Alex Vaccaro, his surgeon and the Eagles’ spine specialist,” NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo wrote on his official X account on July 20. “Whitehead had recent workouts with the Colts and Texans and is expected to meet with more teams soon.”
Whitehead’s injury forced him to miss the entire 2025 season. The 29-year-old former 4th-round pick was a full-time starter for each of his 1st 7 seasons in the NFL, including winning a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers following the 2020 season.
“Former Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead is close to returning to football for the first time since injuring his neck in a car accident in January 2025,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on his official X account.
Buccaneers Shocked by Whitehead’s Neck Injury
The Buccaneers were just 1 win away from clinching an NFC playoff berth in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the New Orleans Saints when Whitehead suffered his injury.
Even with those high stakes, the game itself was put on the back burner on Saturday morning when Whitehead sustained serious enough injuries in a car accident on the way to the team’s facilities that resulted in him being put on the non-football injury list.
From the Buccaneers’ official X account on January 4: “Jordan Whitehead was involved in an auto accident this morning on his way to our practice facility. Due to injuries sustained in the accident, he will not play in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints and has been placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury (NFI) list. We have signed Ryan Neal from our practice squad to the 53-man roster.”
Whitehead had already returned from what was thought to be a season-ending injury to his pectoral muscle suffered in a win over the New York Giants on November 24.
He missed 4 games but returned to play in the Buccaneers’ Week 17 game, when he had 3 tackles in a 48-14 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Whitehead signed a 2-year, $9 million contract with the Buccaneers in March 2024 and was in his second stint with the team, having previously played for Tampa Bay from 2018 to 2021. Whitehead was second on the team with 79 tackles in 12 games at the time of his injury.
Bucs Welcomed Whitehead Back From Jets
Whitehead starred in college for the University of Pittsburgh, where he was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2015 and was a 2-time All-ACC pick before the Buccaneers selected him in the fourth round (No. 117 overall) of the 2018 NFL draft.
Whitehead made 11 starts and played in 15 games as a rookie, then started every game he played in for the next 3 seasons, including all 16 games in the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl-winning season in 2020, when he had 74 tackles, 2 interceptions, 9 TFL, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.
In the 2020 playoffs, Whitehead was also great, making 4 starts and finishing with 9 tackles and 2 forced fumbles, including a forced fumble recovered by teammate Devin White in the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers.
The Buccaneers let Whitehead go in free agency in 2022, when he signed a 2-year, $14.5 million contract with the New York Jets, where he started 34 consecutive games over 2022 and 2023 and had 6 interceptions, including a career-high 4 interceptions in 2022.
Former Bucs Starter Cleared to Return From Career-Threatening Injury