A potentially major injury to a certain New York Jets quarterback will dominate the headlines, but Jordan Whitehead is doing his best to keep the New York Jets in the game in the meantime.
Whitehead, who attended Central Valley High School in Monaca, Pa., starred at Pitt in the late 2010s and now plays safety for the Jets, has a hat trick of interceptions off Buffalo Bills star quarterback Josh Allen on Monday Night Football.
Whitehead punished Allen on a couple of deep shots to wideouts Deonte Harty and Stefon Diggs, but Whitehead read Allen the entire way as a deep-lying centerfielder. And on the Bills’ first drive of the fourth quarter, he undercut a ball to Bills wideout Gabe Davis on the sideline, securing the hat trick.
He’s also recorded two tackles (one solo) through just over three quarters of action at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Whitehead is in his second year with the Jets, signing a 2-year deal with New York last offseason, and he’s coming off a season in which he started all 17 games — racking up 89 tackles (58 solo), four tackles for loss, two interceptions and eight pass breakups.
In four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he racked up 292 tackles (222 solo), 22 tackles for loss, two sacks, forced fumbles and recoveries, five interceptions and 25 passes defended in 59 games, starting 55 games.
The hard-hitting safety played an integral role on Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl-winning squad in 2021, and now he plays an integral role in a Jets secondary with high expectations.
Whitehead, originally a four-star recruit at Pitt out of Central Valley High School in Monaca, Pa., recorded 235 tackles (162 solo), 8.5 tackles for loss, a half-sack, three interceptions, 12 passes defended and two defensive touchdowns in just 31 games at Pitt between 2015-17.
He was originally selected by the Buccaneers with a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
