Stephen Gregory White (October 25, 1973 – August 30, 2022) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for seven seasons with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

and the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was later a football blogger for

SB Nation ''SB Nation'' (an abbreviation for their full name ''SportsBlogs Nation'') is a sports blogging network owned by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Tyler Blezinski, Markos Moulitsas, and Jerome Armstrong in 2003. The blog from which the netwo ...

Playing career

White attended Westwood High School in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, and played for the school's football team as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He enrolled at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, where he played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

from 1992 to 1995 as a

. He played in 40 games for the Volunteers, starting 21 games at right defensive end. White recorded 105

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, 20 sacks, and forced six

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

s with Tennessee. The

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of the

(NFL) selected White in the sixth round of the

1996 NFL draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...

. The Eagles wanted White to play as a

and had him lose . The Eagles cut White before the start of the

1996 NFL season The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end. Most significantly, the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy resulted in a then-u ...

and the

signed him to their

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. The Buccaneers signed him as a defensive end and asked him to gain the 20 pounds back. In October 1996, Tampa Bay signed White to their active roster. He was a backup in his first three seasons. In the 1998 season, an injury to

Chidi Ahanotu Chidi Obioma Ahanotu (born October 11, 1970) is an American former professional football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California and was selected in the 1993 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Bucca ...

required White to backup

Tyoka Jackson Tyoka Jackson (born November 22, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, a ...

at left defensive end, though he typically had played on the right side. White beat out Regan Upshaw to become a starting defensive end for the Buccaneers in 1999. He started 13 games that season. In the 1999 playoffs, he recorded seven tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. White lost his starting job to Marcus Jones the next season, and recorded five sacks as a substitute, alternating with Jones and

Simeon Rice Simeon James Rice (; born February 24, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the ...

. White signed with the

before the 2002 season. He played as a backup and was waived in February 2003. In his NFL career, White played in 94 games, starting 15 games. He started 13 of those games during the 1999 season. He retired with 119 tackles and 11.5 sacks.

Later life

After his playing career, White was an assistant coach for the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

for one year. He wrote about the NFL for

from 2013 to 2020. White lived in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, after his career. He was diagnosed with

chronic lymphocytic leukemia Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. In CLL, the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell. In patients with CLL, B cell lymphocytes can begin to colle ...

in 2014 and he received a bone marrow transplant at the

Moffitt Cancer Center Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute is a nonprofit cancer treatment and research center located in Tampa, Florida. Established in 1981 by the Florida Legislature, the hospital opened in October 1986 on the University of South Florida, Uni ...

in April 2022. He died on August 30, 2022, at the age of 48.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Steve 1973 births 2022 deaths Deaths from leukemia in Florida Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee American football defensive ends Tennessee Volunteers football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New York Jets players 20th-century American people 21st-century American people