 Whitehead with the Cleveland Browns in 2019 | |||||||||||||
| No. 35 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1993-03-12)March 12, 1993 (age 32) Greenwood, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Amanda Elzy (Greenwood, Mississippi) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Auburn | ||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2015 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Jermaine Rasheed Whitehead (born March 12, 1993) is an American former professionalfootballsafety. He playedcollege football atAuburn, and was signed by theSan Francisco 49ers as anundrafted free agent in 2015. He was also a member of theBaltimore Ravens,Green Bay Packers, andCleveland Browns.
Whitehead was born in Greenwood, Mississippi to Teveeta Whitehead and Frank Ellis.[1] Whitehead attended Amanda Elzy High School where he played cornerback andquarterback with the Panthers football team. After a productive season in 2009 as quarterback saw Whitehead earn District 3 (4A) Player of the Year, he went on to play his junior and senior seasons as a cornerback. Whitehead's defensive performances earned him numerous regional, state and All-American honors fromESPN.com,Rivals.com andScout.com.[1] He was rated a four-star recruit by247Sports and Rivals.com.[2][3] By his senior season, Whitehead held a 3.71GPA.[4] Whitehead received offers fromTennessee,Mississippi,Mississippi State and Auburn.[2]
Whitehead attendedAuburn University, where he played on theAuburn Tigers football team from 2011 to 2014.[5]
He graduated in 2014 with abachelor's degree inaccounting.[1]
| Auburn Tigers | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
| G | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sck | PDef | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TDs | FF | FR | |
| 2011 | 13 | 1 | 31 | 22 | 9 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 12 | 12 | 86 | 40 | 46 | 1.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | 14 | 14 | 65 | 44 | 21 | 0.0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | 9 | 6 | 36 | 27 | 9 | 0.0 | 1 | 6 | 57 | 9.5 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 48 | 33 | 218 | 133 | 85 | 1.0 | 15 | 9 | 82 | 9.1 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Source:AuburnTigers.comArchived September 4, 2016, at theWayback Machine | ||||||||||||||
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Whitehead's NFL Combine workout |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 197 lb (89 kg) | 31 in (0.79 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.59 s | 1.64 s | 2.70 s | 4.11 s | 6.95 s | 37 in (0.94 m) | 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m) | 15 reps | |
| All values are fromNFL Combine[6][7] | ||||||||||||
After going undrafted in the2015 NFL draft, Whitehead signed with theSan Francisco 49ers on May 5, 2015.[8] On September 5, 2015, he was released by the 49ers during final team cuts.[9] Whitehead was signed to the 49ers'practice squad the following day.[10]
On December 23, 2015, theBaltimore Ravens signed Whitehead off the 49ers' practice squad.[11] He was inactive for the last two games of the season. On April 19, 2016, Whitehead was re-signed by the Ravens.[12] He was released by the Ravens on May 13, 2016.[13]
Whitehead was signed by theGreen Bay Packers on May 18, 2016.[14] On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Packers during final team cuts and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[15][16] On October 24, 2016, he was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster.[17] Whitehead made his NFL debut against theAtlanta Falcons in Week 8. On November 7, 2016, he was released by the Packers and was re-signed back to the practice squad.[18][19] He signed a futures contract with the Packers on January 24, 2017.[20]
On September 2, 2017, Whitehead was waived by the Packers and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[21][22] He was promoted to the active roster on October 21, 2017.[23]
Whitehead was re-signed on March 14, 2018.[24] In Week 9 against theNew England Patriots, Whitehead was ejected after slapping centerDavid Andrews in theface mask. He was then released by the Packers on November 6, 2018.[25]
On November 7, 2018, Whitehead was claimed off waivers by theCleveland Browns.[26] On September 29, 2019, he had his first NFL careerinterception and forcedfumble in a game against the Ravens.[27] Whitehead was waived on November 4, 2019 after posting "several threatening and racist messages for people who criticized him" following the team's loss to theDenver Broncos, a game in which he missed a number of crucialtackles.[28] Whitehead later apologized for the messages.[29]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comb | Solo | Ast | Sack | Safety | PD | Int | Yds | Lng | TDs | FF | FR | Yds | TD | |||||
| 2016 | GB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | GB | 10 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | GB | 7 | 2 | 20 | 18 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| CLE | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | CLE | 8 | 8 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 10 | 76 | 58 | 18 | 1.0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Source:NFL.com | ||||||||||||||||||
After his final NFL season, Whitehead began a career in finances including jobs in payroll and financial management. From 2020 to 2021, Whitehead attendedSyracuse University, graduating with aMaster's Degree in accounting. Since 2022, he has worked as a senior staff accountant for Vertical Communication based inAtlanta, Georgia.[30]