Buccaneers Safety Picking Up Where He Left Off In Todd Bowles' Defense

Part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers revamped secondary this offseason included bringing back a familiar face at safety.

Jordan Whitehead, who spent his first four seasons with the Bucs and won a Super Bowl with the team in 2020, was brought back in free agency and provides familiarity and a boost to the secondary for the Buccaneers. The roster has changed quite a bit since Whitehead was last with the team after spending the last three seasons with the Jets, but some of the core veterans remain the same

"It's been a lot of energy out here," Whitehead said. "It's good to see all the guys back. It's a little different from the last time I was out here, but a lot of the same guys though. So it's good to see them out here. Good to see the vets Mike (Evans), Lavonte (David), and Vita (Vea), it's good to see those guys."

Coming back into a defense where he was a playmaker for the Bucs has some expected new wrinkles to it, but Whitehead has pretty much picked up right where he left off.

"It’s right where I left off," Whitehead said. "There's some little things that I just forgot about that he’s on me for like, “I told you that last time.” But it came back pretty good and I'm excited to be back in this fun defense. Flying around doing a lot of different things. It's fun."

Whitehead returns with a different understanding of the game from his time with the Jets. And while he played with his running mate Antoine Winfield Jr in 2020, it was the All-Pro's rookie season. Since then, Winfield Jr has developed into the best safety in the NFL and Whitehead is excited to get back on the field with him with their combined knowledge of the game.

“It's like playing with your brother," Whitehead said. "It's easy to communicate, I kind of just look at him, he's down, I'm back. It's not about the playbook, we just free roam out there, we know what we're doing. But then with him being even more of a vet now, being a pro bowler, All-Pro, all that stuff he's got that knowledge and it helps me a lot too."

With Whitehead and Winfield patrolling the last line of defense, the Bucs safety room and secondary as a whole is much better than it was in 2023. If both can stay healthy, they will provide the Buccaneers with plenty of matchup problems for opposing offenses on their way to hopefully capturing a fourth consecutive NFC South crown.