End of the Whitehead Experiment

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A few missed tackles, a broken hand, and a handful of threatening tweets cost Jermaine Whitehead his job.

Following the Browns 19-24 loss to the Denver Broncos, safety Jermaine Whitehead took to Twitter to address his critics. Violent threats were tweeted to members of the Cleveland media and fans critiquing Whitehead’s poor performance Sunday afternoon.

Whitehead was inserted into the starting safety role because Damarious Randall was dealing with a hamstring injury. He’s also played at least 96 percent of the defensive snaps in Steve Wilks 4-2-5 defensive scheme since Week Two.

Whitehead failed to register a single defensive statistic amidst playing all fifty snaps. His forgettable performance against the Broncos was highlighted by two missed tackles.

The first happening early in the second quarter on Noah Fant’s 75-yd touchdown. Whitehead displayed his characteristically poor tackling technique by throwing a shoulder and not wrapping up with his arms.

His second missed tackle occurred later in the second quarter on Phillip Lindsay’s 40-yd run up the middle. This missed tackle unlike the first showed a lack of effort as he reached out for an arm tackle.

Sadly, for Whitehead his unforgiving mistakes were becoming too consistent. For example, his performance in the fourth quarter against the L.A. Rams helped change the complexion of the game.

Early in the fourth quarter he displayed poor coverage against wide receiver Cooper Kupp and allowed an easy touchdown on 3rd-and-goal. Later in the quarter on 3rd-and-10, Whitehead drew an unnecessary roughness penalty for hitting Jared Goff, who fell yards short of the first down. That mistake extended the drive and resulted in a Rams field goal.

This turned out to be a disappointing end to Whitehead’s tenure with the Browns. A wasted opportunity to rewrite his narrative after being cut by the Green Bay Packers in 2018, following his ejection for slapping an opposing player.

General Manager John Dorsey took a chance claiming Whitehead off waivers and was expecting a better return on investment. The move doubles down on Dorsey's philosophy that players deserve a second chance.

Whitehead was given a fresh start in Cleveland but poor decisions on and off the field soiled everything he could have changed. Unfortunately, his performance on gamedays disappointed fans and his personal decisions disappointed the front office and coaching staff.

During the Browns organized team activities, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks called Whitehead a leader and an “extremely smart player”.

Maybe he did and said all the right things during training camp and OTA's to be considered a leader. Someone that was labeled as a leader should hold themselves to a higher standard and represent the organization in a positive light.

Dorsey takes chances on talented but troubled players, and there has been an obvious lack of accountability.

The front office is trying to create a new culture but the evaluation of character needs to change. Players must hold themselves accountable in all aspects but the front office should reflect on what chances should and should not be taken.

Following Jermaine Whitehead’s release and with Eric Murray week to week after a knee scope and Damarious Randall nursing a nagging injury, the Browns need someone to step up and fill in at free safety and be a leader in the secondary.