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The New York Jets claimed wide receiver/kick returner Lucky Whitehead off waivers, multiple outlets reported on Wednesday. The move comes two days after Whitehead was cut by the Dallas Cowboys following an initial report that the 25-year-old was accused of petty larceny. Police later reported that it identified the wrong man and regretted the impact its errors had bestowed upon Whitehead and his family.
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Whitehead denied he was in the state of Virginia at the time of the arrest and claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, which Prince William County Police Sergeant Jonathan L. Perok confirmed Tuesday in a statement.
"Upon reviewing the June 22, 2017 arrest of an individual named "Rodney Darnell Whitehead, Jr.," the police department is confident that the man charged with petit larceny, and who is subsequently being sought on an active warrant for failure to appear in court, is not Lucky Whitehead of the Dallas Cowboys," Perok's statement read in part.
The department went on to say that the man did not have identification on him at the time of his June 22 arrest, but verbally provided his information to police officers.
Officers then checked his information through the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles database and used the DMV photo on file to compare to the man they had in custody.
Whitehead admitted to the Dallas Morning News that he was "blindsided" and "no one (in Cowboys management) had my back in the whole situation."
He could see immediate action as Jets' incumbent Jalin Marshall is suspended for the first four games of the season.
Whitehead recorded just nine receptions in two seasons with the Cowboys; however, he returned 44 punts for 305 yards and 33 kickoffs for 846 yards with the club.
