From 2016-23, Chicago Bears fans knewꦬ they were going to plug Cody Whitehair somewhere into the starting lineup on the offensi🀅ve line.
And even though Whitehair is💦 gone, it sounds like the former Bears center and guard will still find his way into the starting lineup when the 2024 NFL season kicks off — albeit with a different team.
Whitehair ꧒appears to have found a soft landing with the Las Vegas Raiders.ꦰ about Whitehair starting ahead of Jackson Powers-Johnson:
Whitehair spent both the ‘22 a♍nd ‘23 seasons with #Raiders OC Luke Getsy in Chicago. Getsy’s offense is new to everyone in Las Vegas.. everyone except Cody Whitehair. There’s established trust there.
It’s absolutely possible JPJ ascends to a starting role🌺 in Year 1 as the season goes on, but it isn’t a given.
That is quite an interesting development in Vegas. Jackson Powers-Johnson was a hot-shot offensive line prospect back in April. There was even a brief period of time in which he was viewed as a possible first-round target. Unfortunately, for JPJ, he slipped to the second day of the 2024 NFL Draft. It seems as if the Raiders would eventually like to slide Powers-Johnson into the starting lineup sooner rather than later. But until he gets up to speed, it’ll be Cody Whitehair holding down the fort along the Raiders’ offensive line at left guard.
Cody Whitehair gets a new lease on a football life
In case you missed it, the Bears cut Cody Whitehair back in February. The offseason parting of ways ended Whitehair’s time with the team which began in 2016 as a second-round pick. Whitehair, who made the Pro Bowl alternate after the 2018 season and was a key piece on the offensive line of two Bears playoff teams, was an integral part of the team’s last competitive cycle. Clearly, the team didn’t think he’d be part of its next. But that didn’t mean that Whitehair didn’t have value for someone’s organization.
Whitehair signed with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason. In doing so, it reunited him with former Bears executive Champ Kelly (now the Raiders’ Assistant General Manager), former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, and other Chicago ex-pats.
Seriously, have you seen the Raiders’ coaching staff? There’s a whole bunch of old ghosts:
But, hey, good for Cody Whitehair. Things didn’t end well for him in his final season with the Bears. However, it isn’t as if Whitehair wasn’t a quality player at one time for the Bears. Heck, he was mostly good before his poor play caused him to get benched. And yet, Whitehair still saw a bright future for the team even though he was on his way out the door. When guys leave on good terms, it makes it easy to root for their future success — isn’t even if it isn’t with the Bears.
MORE: Coܫdy Whitehair Provides 𒐪Some Bears Optimism For 2024
Sometimes, I find myself feeling bad when players who are with a team during the toughest times don’t get to be around when things turn around. Whitehair won’t get to see it through in Chicago. But at least he was an important piece of the last Bears playoff team.
Cody Whitehair will always have that magical 2018 season to look back to, I’m hoping the Bears give us another team to enjoy as much as we did that season in 2024.
