AFC team expected to pursue Buccaneers safety Jordan Whitehead in free agency
It's pretty safe to assume that Jordan Whitehead is at the top of the Buccaneers' list of priorities when it comes to their impending free agents. But unfortunately for them, he's also at the top of another team's list. Per 93.7 The Fan's Andrew Fillipponi, the Steelers are expected to pursue Whitehead if they can't […]
It's pretty safe to assume that Jordan Whitehead is at the top of the Buccaneers' list of priorities when it comes to their impending free agents. But unfortunately for them, he's also at the top of another team's list.
Per 93.7 The Fan's Andrew Fillipponi, the Steelers are expected to pursue Whitehead if they can't come to an agreement with their own impending free agent safety in Terrell Edmunds. Edmunds was the team's former first-round pick back in 2018, but the Steelers declined to pick up his fifth-year option heading into the 2021 offseason.
Edmunds showed plenty of improvement in 2021 to make the Steelers reevaluate their thought process on the whole matter. He finished the season with the second-most tackles in his career (89), tied for career-highs in sacks (1.0) and interceptions (2), and finished with a career-high 8.0 tackles for loss.
The former Virginia Tech star is a box safety, just like Whitehead. The only real difference between the two is their stature and draft status. Edmunds is listed a 6-foot-1, 216-pounds, while Whitehead is 5-foot-10, 198-pounds. As mentioned earlier, Edmunds was taken with the 28th pick in the first round while Whitehead was drafted in the fourth round with the 117th overall pick. Both have the same hard-hitting, physical play style and they both excel most around the line of scrimmage.
The Steelers are going to have to fight off the Buccaneers when it comes to Whitehead. If they can't re-sign Edmunds, of course. The Steelers have a clear advantage over the Buccaneers when it comes to the possibility of signing Whitehead, though, and that's money. The Buccaneers are currently in the red. They're nearly $15 million over the cap in regard to effective cap space. The Steelers, on the other hand, have nearly $25.5 million in cap room. That comes out to about a $40 million difference between the two teams.
Whitehead is one of the NFL's most underrated safeties, but it looks like other teams have caught on. The Buccaneers better be ready to pay the man, or else they could very well lose him.
Featured image via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
