Tahir Ali Whitehead (born April 2, 1990) is a former American football

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 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

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, and was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL draft.

Early life

A native of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, Whitehead played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at West Side High School, where he was part of the team that won the 2007 state sectional championship.

College career

Whitehead played four years for

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

from 2008 through 2011. After primarily playing on special teams as a freshman and sophomore, Whitehead carved out a starting role in the 2010 season and finished sixth on an 8–4 Temple team with 56 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for a loss. As a senior in 2011, Whitehead had 70 tackles, five sacks, and 13.5 tackles-for-loss for a Temple team that went 9–4 and won a

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

for the first time since 1979. Whitehead was named a Second Team All- MAC selection following the season.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Whitehead attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and completed all of the combine drills. On March 16, 2012, he attended Temple's pro day and opted to run all of the combine drills for the scouts and team representatives. He posted faster times in the short shuttle, 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and three-cone drill. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Whitehead was projected to be a sixth- or seventh-round pick. He was ranked as the 21st-best outside linebacker prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

Detroit Lions

2012

The

selected Whitehead in the fifth round (138th overall) of the 2012 NFL draft. The Lions traded their seventh-round pick (219th overall) in the 2012 NFL Draft and their fourth-round pick (102nd overall) in the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

for their fifth-round pick (138th overall) and seventh-round pick (223rd overall) in 2012. Whitehead was the 18th linebacker selected in 2012 and was one of three Temple players, joining Bernard Pierce and Evan Rodriguez. On March 10, 2012, the Lions signed Whitehead to a four-year, $2.31 million

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

that included a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $212,000. Throughout

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, Whitehead competed for the backup linebacker role against

Doug Hogue Doug Hogue (born February 1, 1989) is an American former professional Gridiron football, football linebacker. He played college football at Syracuse Orange football, Syracuse. He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 2011 N ...

. Head coach Jim Schwartz named Whitehead the backup outside linebacker behind Justin Durant, DeAndre Levy, and Doug Hogue to start the regular season. On September 16, 2012, Whitehead made his professional regular season debut and made one solo tackle and a forced fumble during a 27–19 loss at the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. His first career tackle and forced fumble came as he was covering a kick return and tackled Kendall Hunter. He caused a Hunter to fumble and the ball was recovered by Kassim Osgood in the first quarter. In Week 10, he made a season-high two solo tackles in a 34–24 loss at the

. He appeared mainly on special teams during his rookie season and finished with a total of 11 combined tackles (eight solo) and a forced fumble in 14 games and zero starts.

2013

Whitehead returned to training camp in and competed against Ashlee Palmer, Travis Lewis, and Rocky McIntosh for the starting outside linebacker role that was left vacant after the departure of Justin Durant to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in free agency. Head coach Jim Shwartz named him the backup to Ashlee Palmer and DeAndre Levy to start the regular season. He played in the Detroit Lions' season-opener and assisted on one tackle in their 34-24 victory over the

. On September 29, 2013, he recorded a season-high two solo tackled during a 40-32 victory over the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He finished the season with nine combined tackles (seven solo) in 16 games and appeared solely on special teams. Whitehead didn't play a single snap on defense in his first two seasons.

2014

Throughout training camp, Whitehead competed for the job as the outside linebacker against Kyle Van Noy and Ashlee Palmer. New head coach Jim Caldwell named Whitehead the starting strongside linebacker to start the 2014 regular season. He earned his first career start in the Detroit Lions' season-opener against the

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

and made one solo tackle in the 35–14 victory. On September 28, 2014, Whitehead earned his first start at middle linebacker after Stephen Tulloch tore his ACL while celebrating a sack the previous week. He recorded a season-high 12 combined tackles in the Lions' 24–17 win at 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 ...

and remained the starting middle linebacker for the rest of the season. On October 12, 2014, Whitehead made seven combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made two interceptions off of Minnesota Vikings' quarterback Teddy Bridgewater as the Lions won, 17–3. It marked his first career interception. In Week 15, he made ten combined tackles in a 16–14 victory at the Minnesota Vikings. Whitehead finished the season with 86 combined tackles (63 solo), two interceptions and five pass deflections in 16 games and 15 starts. The Detroit Lions finished second in the NFC North with an 11–5 record and received a playoff berth. On January 4, 2015, Whitehead started his first career playoff game and made six combined tackles and made his first career sack on quarterback Tony Romo in the Lions' 24–20 loss in the NFC Wildcard game at the

. Whitehead was ranked the 14th-best inside linebacker by Pro Football Focus for 2014.

2015

Whitehead competed with Stephen Tulloch for the starting middle linebacker role after he was impressive while replacing him in 2014. Head coach Jim Caldwell named Whitehead the backup middle linebacker behind Tulloch, with Travis Lewis and DeAndre Levy as the starting outside linebackers. On September 20, 2015, he made four combined tackles in the Lions' 26–16 victory against the

. In Week 10, Whitehead made his first start of the season, replacing Travis Lewis at outside linebacker, and recorded eight combined tackles, deflected a pass, and sacked

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears foo ...

during an 18–16 victory at the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. On January 3, 2015, he collected six combined tackles, deflected a pass, made a sack, and intercepted a pass attempt by Chicago Bears' quarterback

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. A member of the Chicago Bears for most of his career, he is ...

in the Lions' 24–20 victory. Whitehead finished with 50 combined tackles (39 solo), a career-high two sacks, one interception, one fumble recovery, and a career-high six pass defenses. He played in 16 games and started the last eight at outside linebacker.

2016

On March 10, 2016, the Detroit Lions signed Whitehead to a two-year, $8 million contract that includes $4.75 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3 million. Whitehead entered training camp slated as the starting middle linebacker after Stephen Tulloch departed during the offseason. He started the Detroit Lions' season-opener at the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

and made ten combined tackles and two pass deflections in their 39–35 victory. On October 9, 2016, Whitehead recorded a season-high 12 combined tackles and defended two passes during a 24–23 win against 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 ...

. In Week 12, he collected 12 combined tackles for the fourth time in 2016 during the Lions' 22–16 win at the

. Whitehead missed the Lions' Week 13 victory at the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

after suffering a knee injury. Whitehead had a breakout 2016 season and finished with a career-high 132 combined tackles (99 solo) and five pass deflections in 15 games and 15 starts. His 132 tackles ranked ninth in the NFL in 2016.

2017

Whitehead started the 2017 season at weakside linebacker after the Detroit Lions selected Jarrad Davis is the first round (21st overall) of the 2017 NFL draft and anointed him starting middle linebacker. On September 18, 2017, Whitehead recorded eight combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception on

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning family, he is the youngest ...

as the Lions defeated the

24-10 on ''

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

''. The interception set up the Lions' offense on an eventual touchdown scoring drive. On November 23, 2017, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles in a 30-23 loss to the

. In Week 9, Whitehead recorded five solo tackle and a sack during a 30-17 win at the

. He finished the season with 120 combined tackles (78 solo), two pass deflections, a sack, and an interception in 16 games and 16 starts. The Detroit Lions finished second in the NFC North with a 9-7 record and head coach Jim Caldwell was fired at the end of the season.

Oakland Raiders

On March 15, 2018, the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

signed Whitehead to a three-year, $19 million contract that includes $6.27 million guaranteed. On March 9, 2020, Whitehead was released by the Raiders.

Carolina Panthers

On March 23, 2020, Whitehead signed a one-year contract with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. He played in 14 games with nine starts recording 51 tackles, which was seventh on the team.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 2, 2021, Whitehead was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

practice squad. He was released on January 11, 2022.

Retirement

On September 9, 2022, Whitehead signed a one-day contract with the

to officially retire with the team.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

Whitehead is the nephew of former NFL

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 ...

Willie Whitehead. Whitehead is married and has four sons. He is the older brother of Dariq Whitehead, a former 5-star recruit who played on the

Duke Blue Devils men's basketball The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represents Duke University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The team is fourth all-time in wins of any NCAA men's basketball program, and is curr ...

team and was selected 22nd overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2023 NBA draft.

References

External links

Temple Owls bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Tahir 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Newark, New Jersey West Side High School (New Jersey) alumni American football linebackers Temple Owls football players Detroit Lions players Oakland Raiders players Carolina Panthers players Arizona Cardinals players