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Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jordan Whitehead was placed on the non-football injury list Saturday after suffering injuries in a car accident, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
Whitehead is not expected to return this season, per Stroud.
Rick Stroud @NFLSTROUD
Whitehead is not expected to return this season. Significant loss for the Bucs who will also be without S Antoine Winfield Jr. again today and CB Jamel Dean for Sunday’s game against the Saints. The Bucs must win to clinch the NFC South or have the Falcons lose to the Panthers. https://t.co/UOK7WilA1K
The news comes days after Whitehead returned for Week 17 following four weeks on IR with a pectoral muscle injury.
Whitehead has recorded 79 combined tackles, including two for loss, in 12 starts for the Buccaneers this season.
Stroud wrote that “overall Whitehead is ok but he will miss multiple weeks.”
The Buccaneers said the accident occurred while Whitehead was on his way to the team’s practice facility on Saturday morning.
Whitehead underwent tests at a hospital after the accident, according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine.
JennaLaineESPN @JennaLaineESPN
Bucs starting safety Jordan Whitehead was involved in a car accident this morning on his way to the team facility, a source tells me. He’s at the hospital now undergoing tests and he’s alert, but I’m told that he’s going to miss time.
Practice squad safety Ryan Neal was elevated to the active roster following Whitehead’s move to the NFI list.
Neal made one appearance earlier this season amid Whitehead’s previous stint on IR. He made three tackles in a Week 15 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Whitehead, who won a Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2021, spent two seasons with the New York Jets before Tampa Bay re-signed him ahead of the 2024 season to join Antoine Winfield Jr.
Injuries to both Whitehead and Winfield have limited their playing time together since. The Bucs will now head into Week 18 missing their top three safeties following injuries to Whitehead, Winfield and Christian Izien.
Mike Edwards and Kaevon Merriweather could be called on to start in the trio’s absence as the Buccaneers look to clinch the NFC South and a playoff spot with a win over the New Orleans Saints.
Should the Bucs lose to the Saints, the team could be eliminated from playoff contention if the Atlanta Falcons win over the Carolina Panthers.