Last year's theme for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was getting the band back together, something that extended beyond just getting new deals done for Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Tristan Wirfs.
Jordan Whitehead came back to Tampa after two seasons with the New York Jets. It was hailed as a reunion that could help the defense get back to its Super Bowl-winning ways, but things didn't exactly work out the way anyone wanted.
In less than a year, he went from reuniting with the Bucs to becoming a cap casualty, but it's a situation that could lead him to yet another reunion elsewhere in the league.
Steelers could target Jordan Whitehead in free agency
OnSI Steelers writer Jack Markowski tossed out Whitehead as a potential free agent target for Pittsburgh. It would be a deal that not only reunites him with Aaron Rodgers, his former teammate with the Jets, but would be a homecoming of sorts as well.
"DeShon Elliott is entrenched as a starter at safety for the Steelers after signing a two-year, $12.225 million extension last month, but the team could use another veteran option at the position alongside both him and Juan Thornhill," Markowski wrote.
Whitehead played college football at Pitt before getting drafted by the Bucs back in 2018. It was a move that aged well, with Whitehead becoming an important part of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl-winning defense a few years later.
Those were the vibes everyone hoped would return last year when the Bucs reunited with Whitehead and brought him back in free agency. It didn't pan out, though, with Whitehead suffering through an injury-riddled season that also saw him fail to live up to expectations.
His season ended early, with the Bucs ruling him out of the team's season finale after Whitehead was involved in a car accident, which caused him to miss the Wild Card game a week later.
Now he has a chance to redeem himself with another potential reunion. He was the star of the ill-fated Aaron Rodgers debut two years ago, helping the Jets win despite all that happened. That's about all the winning he experienced in New York, but a place in the Steelers defense could afford him an opportunity to bounce back for a team that is going all-in on trying to win the Super Bowl next season.
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