New York Jets safety Jordan Whitehead is now playing alongside Aaron Rodgers just three years after he won the Super Bowl with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay.
The 26-year-old is one of the few NFL players to play with both of the legendary quarterbacks, and is in a unique position due to being at both the Buccaneers and the Jets when the veterans were brought in. Whitehead was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and saw just how much the franchise changed with Brady at quarterback.
He won the Super Bowl and then left to join the Jets, but is now feeling "déjà vu" as an almost identical situation has happened in New York. Whitehead has drawn from his unique experiences and told the group just what could happen next season by telling them it reminds him of when Brady touched down in Tampa Bay.
"I tell the guys it's kind of like déjà vu for me," Whitehead said to the New York Jets official website. "I let everyone know that we have to have the right group."
Whitehead helped make up a solid defence at the Buccaneers in 2019, but former head coach Bruce Arians was missing a key part of the roster. Brady came in to transform the team, and a Super Bowl championship followed.
It's a similar scenario at the Jets, as they had a bright offense and defence last season, but it was at quarterback where they were held back and they missed a great opportunity to end their playoff drought. That's now been sorted as Rodgers made the trade from the Green Bay Packers.
"It was kind of the same situation I fell into when I was with the Bucs," Whitehead added. "We had a great defense the year before and we just needed one piece that was missing."
Whitehead is already impressed with Rodgers, stating that he's making them the best they can possibly be already. Rodgers has been very involved in OTA sessions, getting to know his new teammates and get the most out of his offense.
"On the field, he's making us better, we're getting the best we can get," Whitehead said of Rodgers during OTAs. "He's making us checkdown and communicate on another level. In the locker room you see and hear him. He's a funny character. He's a good guy, open to everything. A real great guy."
If Rodgers was with the Packers it's likely that his OTA participation would be limited, with the quarterback himself admitting that it's more for the younger players. But Rodgers is determined to set new standards that will lead to success.
"When you're in the same offense for a long time, the offseason is really for the young players," Rodgers said when being asked why he attended the first two OTA sessions. "But, with a new offense and it being my first year here, I really wanted to be around for at least some of the beginning things to just let them know how I like to do things.
"Some of the code words, some of the little adjustments, some of the ways I see the game. The worst thing you can have is sitting in a meeting and seeing the coach up there just talking the entire time with no interaction.
"That might be the standard at some places but that's just never felt like the right way to do things. It needs to be a free flowing conversation between the coaches and the players. Need feedback, need to call on guys. I'm allowed to do some of that stuff, and I think it's important that they're paying attention. Then they know that at any point they can get called on to answer a question or something."
