When the Jets officially signed S Jordan Whitehead, they acquired one of the toughest players in the league who also has a family link to one of the club's legendary players — Darrelle Revis.
Whitehead loves contact and he packs a punch, but his mental resiliency is unique considering he was a key performer during the Buccaneers' Super Bowl LV thumping of the Chiefs despite playing with a torn labrum in his shoulder.
"Big game, big moment, just trying to put on for your team, make some plays and get the win," Whitehead said of his efforts.
Whitehead will make some more plays in a new uniform next season, swapping pewter for green and moving back to the Northeast as the Jets look to continue their climb to contention. Whitehead lined up in 14 games for the Buccaneers last season while amassing 67 tackles, 8 PDs and 2 INTs. A fourth-round pick of the Buccaneers in the 2018 NFL Draft, Whitehead, a Pittsburgh product, played four seasons in Tampa and had 276 tackles (206 solos), 25 PDs, 5 INTs and 2 sacks while appearing in 59 contests (55 starts).
Two days shy of turning 25, Whitehead has already appeared in six postseason games and was a winner in five of those contests, amassing 22 tackles (18 solos), 2 TFL and 1 PD. In the Buccaneers' 2020 NFC Championship game triumph over Green Bay, Whitehead had two forced fumbles before leaving with a shoulder injury. But the big hitter, who hails from Aliquippa, PA, the same hometown as his cousin, Jets legend Darrelle Revis, started in the Super Bowl and got his ring.
"Growing up, I just remember watching him at Aliquippa, a great basketball and football player," Whitehead said of Revis in an interview with "Good Morning Football" before being drafted. "And then he get drafted in 2007, I remember sitting at his house and I was on the ground with his jersey on. He got drafted and I just remember the family going crazy and after that, I always hit him up a little bit to see where he's at and what he's doing. He gives me good advice and it's a blessing to have him as a cousin."
Whitehead signed with the Green & White 15 years after Revis heard the Jets call his name.
