Unexpected Safety Option Emerges for the Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles allowed former starting safety Reed Blankenship to leave in free agency earlier this offseason. While the Eagles seem confident in the team’s current safety group, Philadelphia could still look to make another addition at the position. If the Eagles want to add another safety, an unexpected option has just emerged.
According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, veteran safety Jordan Whitehead has been fully cleared to resume his football career. The 29-year-old safety missed all of last season after suffering a neck injury in a car accident on January 4, 2025. According to Garafolo, Whitehead’s neck surgery was performed by Alex Vaccaro, who is also the Eagles’ spine specialist.
Yet that isn’t Whitehead’s only connection to Philadelphia. Eagles senior vice president of player personnel, Joe Douglas, was also the general manager of the New York Jets when Whitehead signed a two-year, $14.5 million deal with the team in 2022. Whitehead recorded six interceptions across two seasons in New York before returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024.
Eagles pass game coordinator Josh Grizzard was on the Buccaneers coaching staff when Whitehead returned to Tampa Bay. While Grizzard was obviously working on the other side of the ball, it’s still another noteworthy connection to Philadelphia. The Eagles have added several former Buccaneers players this offseason in Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, J.T. Gray and Michael Jordan. Whitehead is also a Pittsburgh, PA native that spent three seasons in the same secondary as former Eagles defensive back Avonte Maddox in college.
While it’s easy to brush off these connections, there is legitimacy to Whitehead’s link to Douglas. The Eagles have added several players that Douglas spent time with in New York, including Mekhi Becton, Bryce Huff, Michael Carter II and Elijah Moore. While each player has had varying levels of success in Philadelphia, it’s clear that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman respects Douglas’ opinion.
According to Garafolo, Whitehead has recently worked out for the Colts and the Texans and is expected to meet with more teams. Given Philadelphia’s current situation at safety, it would not surprise me at all if the Eagles are one of those teams. While Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio seems confident in Marcus Epps or Michael Carter II emerging as the second starting safety in the team’s nickel defense, I still have my doubts.
Whitehead is actually younger than Epps and has started 54 more games than Philadelphia’s current projected starting safety. In fact, Whitehead has actually started 42 more games at safety in the NFL than Philadelphia’s entire current safety room combined. While the concerns about Whitehead’s neck injury are legitimate, Philadelphia should at least bring him in for a workout.
Roseman has often said that “hope is not a strategy.” Yet it feels like the Eagles are simply hoping that the current safety room works itself out. If Whitehead is tryly fully healthy, it would make a ton of sense to sign him ahead of training camp. He would bring a wealth of experience to Philadelphia’s safety room and push both Epps and Carter for a starting job.