He tried not to take it too hard, but getting cut always stings. Nick Whiteside couldn't even crack the Lions' practice squad. And while he knew that was likely his fate when he signed with the team this summer as a "camp body" to cover for a few injuries in the secondary, it didn't really soften the blow of being told -- by his favorite team, no less -- "like, 'Yo, you’re not in the plans for us right now,'" Whiteside said.
"I had to realize that right now it wasn’t my time for me to be with them," he said.
His time arrived this month when the Lions brought him back, needing depth at corner. His moment came on Monday Night Football in Detroit, early in the second half, when Rock Ya-Sin was the Lions' latest defensive back forced to the sidelines. "It's crazy," said Amik Robertson, the only starter in the team's secondary still standing, because he and Whiteside had a chat just last week where Robertson told him, "The cream alway rises, man."
"Never get down on yourself, because this league is crazy," said Robertson. "And opportunity could present itself."
Whiteside was thrust into action on the opening drive of the third quarter and made a key tackle on Rachaad White on his first snap to prevent a potentially big run, calling to mind the nickname Dan Campbell bestowed upon Whiteside for his stout play this summer: Ironsides. But the Bucs punctured the Lions' defense later that drive on a wide receiver screen where Whiteside got taken out by an offensive tackle, allowing Tez Johnson to scoot 22 yards into the end zone.
"That was on me," said Whiteside. "I took full responsibility."
A 14-0 game was suddenly 14-9. It stayed that way because when the Bucs proceeded to go for two, Whiteside broke up a pass from Baker Mayfield to tight end Cade Otton in the end zone. That was the lift Whiteside needed. That's when he knew the night might be his: "Anytime I get my hands on the ball, I feel confident," he said. "It just solidifies for me, like, hey, I’m playing the right technique, I’m doing what I’m supposed to do."
A year ago, Whiteside was working out for NFL teams "and not sticking." He would eventually sign with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL. It was his only path. Three years ago, he was finishing out his senior season at D-II Saginaw Valley State, where he was teammates with Trevor Nowaske, the two of them still rooting for their favorite team on Sundays. Whiteside liked to tell Nowaske that if they ever made it to the NFL, they would exchange jerseys after a game.
10 years ago, Whiteside was a Lions fan from Auburn Hills who loved Calvin Johnson and Darius Slay and, later, Quandre Diggs. He still remembers the defense in 2014 with Ndamukong Suh. He still admires Slay, who's "made big plays here at Ford Field." When Whiteside walked down the tunnel Monday night and saw the crowd lit up in blue, it made a winding road worth it.
"I’m just grateful for them bringing me back," he said.
The game twisted and turned itself. The Lions were in control for most of the night, but had to fight to keep the Bucs at bay. On third down early in the fourth quarter, Mayfield tried to hit star receiver Emeka Egbuka on a go route down the sideline in a mismatch with Whiteside. Whiteside got a piece of the pass, deflecting it out of bounds just as Egbuka was about to make the catch. The Lions forced a turnover on downs on the next play, leading to a field goal.
On a night the offense struggled, Detroit's defense took over. They needed one more stop late in the fourth quarter, leading by 15. With the Bucs in the red zone, Whiteside again rose to the challenge against Egbuka, tracking him down the seam and leaping at the last second to knock down a pass that was about to settle in Egbuka's hands for a touchdown. On fourth down two plays later, Mayfield tried Egbuka in the corner of the end zone and Whiteside, like white on rice, swatted it away for his third pass break-up of the night. His parents contributed to the roar from the crowd.
If he had to choose one, Whiteside said his last play was his favorite, knowing that it essentially sealed Detroit's 24-9 win. He wishes he'd come down with a pick at some point -- he prides himself on his ball skills as a former receiver -- but "it’s all about finishing," he said. "I just want to be a finisher."
"Whether I’m in there at the start or somebody goes down like somebody did tonight, I want to uphold that standard that is set in the DB room," Whiteside said.
Mission accomplished, said Robertson: "The same thing he did out there today, man, he does every day at practice. He’s a ball guy. He stepped up, and I expected that. When he came in, I didn’t blink. Neither did the whole defense. We didn’t back down."
Players going down is inevitable, as the Lions know all too well. In Detroit, players backing down is inconceivable. Without star safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch and starting corners DJ Reed and Terrion Arnold on Monday night, the Lions held Mayfield and the Bucs to season lows in points and yards with a secondary featuring four players who started this year either on Detroit's practice squad or on the street in Thomas Harper, Erick Hallett, Arthur Maulet and Whiteside.
Whiteside's first chance in the NFL came as a practice-squad player with Washington in 2023. After he failed to stick the next year and didn't latch on anywhere else, he wondered if he'd ever get another shot. When the Lions cut him this year, he wondered if that was it. They told him they might see him "later down the line." Whiteside wondered if they meant it.
"I was just thankful that they extended their word," he said.
There will be no jersey swap with Nowaske, at least not a traditional one. They have reconvened in Detroit. Whiteside tells Nowaske every day, "Who would’ve thought?" And who knows how long Whiteside's moment will last, with Detroit's secondary on the mend.
"I just cherish every moment that I have, because you don’t get the moments back," he said. "Not a lot of people can say they play in the NFL, with one of their best friends coming out of college, for the same team, and for the home team, the team that we grew up watching."
He's Mr. Whiteside.