The Jets are beefing up their secondary, as the team agreed to terms with former Seahawks cornerback D.J. Reed and Buccaneers safety Jordan Whitehead on Tuesday, according to sources.
Reed agreed to a three-year, $33 million deal, a source confirmed to The Athletic. Whitehead agreed to a two-year deal, according to Whitehead's agent. It's worth a maximum of $14.5 million, according to reports.
Advertisement
Last season, Reed intercepted two passes and totaled 10 passes defended. He spent the past two seasons in Seattle after he was claimed on waivers by the franchise in 2020. Prior to joining the Seahawks, Reed spent two years with the 49ers.
Whitehead, the Bucs' 2018 fourth-round pick, became a regular starter at safety since the 2019 season. He's tallied five interceptions, 25 pass defenses and 292 total tackles in his first four seasons.
The Jets have been active early this week — they also agreed to terms with former 49ers offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson, are bringing back WR Braxton Berrios on a two-year deal and are expected to sign former Bengals TE C.J. Uzomah.
For more updates, follow The Athletic's NFL free agency live blog.
(Photo: Abbie Parr / Getty Images)
GO DEEPER
2022 NFL free agency: The best available players
GO DEEPER
Jordan Whitehead fills Jets’ glaring need at safety, joining team on two-year deal
GO DEEPER
D.J. Reed’s addition fills Jets’ cornerback hole and creates competition for others
GO DEEPER
NFL free agency signing grades
How much has Reed improved the past couple of seasons?
Larry Holder, NFL writer: Reed seemingly just needed a change of scenery from his first two years in San Francisco to his last two seasons in Seattle. Reed’s opposing passer ratings in his two years with San Francisco were 119.3 and 123.3, respectively, via Pro Football Reference. He only received 28 total targets in those first two seasons.
He picked up far more playing time in 2020 with Seattle and watched his opposing passer rating drop to 75.8. Reed then started 14 games in 2021 and saw his opposing passer rating drop even further down to 67.8. He held quarterbacks to only a 47.7 percent completion rate when targeted last season as well.