 Whitehead with theCarolina Panthers in 2020 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 59, 52, 35 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1990-04-02)April 2, 1990 (age 35) Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 228 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | West Side (Newark, New Jersey) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Temple (2008–2011) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2012: 5th round, 138th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Tahir Ali Whitehead (born April 2, 1990) is an American former professionalfootballlinebacker. He playedcollege football for theTemple Owls and was selected by theDetroit Lions of theNational Football League (NFL) in the fifth round of the2012 NFL draft. He also played for theOakland Raiders,Carolina Panthers, andArizona Cardinals.
A native ofNewark, New Jersey, Whitehead playedhigh school football atWest Side High School, where he was part of the team that won the 2007 state sectional championship.[1]
Whitehead played four years forTemple 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.[2] 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 abowl game for the first time since 1979. Whitehead was named a Second Team All-MAC selection following the season.[3]
Whitehead attended theNFL Scouting Combine inIndianapolis, Indiana 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.[4]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft1+1⁄4 in (1.86 m) | 233 lb (106 kg) | 32+3⁄8 in (0.82 m) | 10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) | 4.68 s | 1.56 s | 2.60 s | 4.16 s | 7.14 s | 37 in (0.94 m) | 10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) | 21 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[5][6] | ||||||||||||
TheDetroit Lions selected Whitehead in the fifth round (138th overall) of the2012 NFL draft.[7] The Lions traded their seventh-round pick (219th overall) in the 2012 NFL Draft and their fourth-round pick (102nd overall) in the2013 NFL draft to theMinnesota Vikings for their fifth-round pick (138th overall) and seventh-round pick (223rd overall) in 2012.[8] Whitehead was the 18th linebacker selected in 2012 and was one of three Temple players, joiningBernard Pierce andEvan Rodriguez.
On March 10, 2012, the Lions signed Whitehead to a four-year,$2.31 millioncontract that included asigning bonus of $212,000.[9]
Throughouttraining camp, Whitehead competed for the backup linebacker role againstDoug Hogue.[10] Head coachJim Schwartz named Whitehead the backup outside linebacker behindJustin Durant,DeAndre Levy, and Doug Hogue to start the regular season.[11]
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 theSan Francisco 49ers. His first career tackle and forced fumble came as he was covering a kick return and tackledKendall Hunter. He caused a Hunter to fumble and the ball was recovered byKassim Osgood in the first quarter.[12] In Week 10, he made a season-high two solo tackles in a 34–24 loss at theMinnesota Vikings. 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.[13]
Whitehead returned to training camp in2013 and competed againstAshlee Palmer,Travis Lewis, andRocky McIntosh for the starting outside linebacker role that was left vacant after the departure ofJustin Durant to theDallas Cowboys infree agency.[14][15] Head coach Jim Shwartz named him the backup to Ashlee Palmer and DeAndre Levy to start the regular season.[16]
He played in theDetroit Lions' season-opener and assisted on one tackle in their 34-24 victory over theMinnesota Vikings. On September 29, 2013, he recorded a season-high two solo tackled during a 40-32 victory over theChicago Bears. He finished the2013 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.[17]
Throughout training camp, Whitehead competed for the job as the outside linebacker againstKyle Van Noy and Ashlee Palmer.[18] New head coachJim Caldwell named Whitehead the starting strongside linebacker to start the 2014 regular season.[19]
He earned his first career start in theDetroit Lions' season-opener against theNew York Giants and made one solo tackle in the 35–14 victory. On September 28, 2014, Whitehead earned his first start at middle linebacker afterStephen Tulloch tore his ACL while celebrating a sack the previous week.[20] He recorded a season-high 12 combined tackles in the Lions' 24–17 win at theNew York Jets 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 ofMinnesota Vikings' quarterbackTeddy 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 the2014 season with 86 combined tackles (63 solo), two interceptions and five pass deflections in 16 games and 15 starts.[21][22]
The Detroit Lions finished second in theNFC 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 quarterbackTony Romo in the Lions' 24–20 loss in the NFC Wildcard game at theDallas Cowboys. Whitehead was ranked the 14th-best inside linebacker byPro Football Focus for 2014.[23]
Whitehead competed with Stephen Tulloch for the starting middle linebacker role after he was impressive while replacing him in 2014. Head coachJim Caldwell named Whitehead the backup middle linebacker behind Tulloch, withTravis Lewis andDeAndre Levy as the starting outside linebackers.[24][25]
On September 20, 2015, he made four combined tackles in the Lions' 26–16 victory against theMinnesota Vikings. 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 sackedAaron Rodgers during an 18–16 victory at theGreen Bay Packers. On January 3, 2015, he collected six combined tackles, deflected a pass, made a sack, and intercepted a pass attempt byChicago Bears' quarterbackJay Cutler in the Lions' 24–20 victory.[26] 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.[27]
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.[9][28][29]
Whitehead entered training camp slated as the starting middle linebacker afterStephen Tulloch departed during the offseason.[30]
He started theDetroit Lions' season-opener at theIndianapolis Colts 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 thePhiladelphia Eagles. In Week 12, he collected 12 combined tackles for the fourth time in 2016 during the Lions' 22–16 win at theMinnesota Vikings. Whitehead missed the Lions' Week 13 victory at theNew Orleans Saints after suffering a knee injury.[31]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.[32] His 132 tackles ranked ninth in the NFL in 2016.[33]
Whitehead started the 2017 season at weakside linebacker after the Detroit Lions selectedJarrad Davis is the first round (21st overall) of the2017 NFL draft and anointed him starting middle linebacker.[34]
On September 18, 2017, Whitehead recorded eight combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception onEli Manning as the Lions defeated theNew York Giants 24-10 onMonday Night Football. The interception set up the Lions' offense on an eventual touchdown scoring drive.[35] On November 23, 2017, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles in a 30-23 loss to theMinnesota Vikings. In Week 9, Whitehead recorded five solo tackle and a sack during a 30-17 win at theGreen Bay Packers. He finished the2017 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 theNFC North with a 9-7 record and head coachJim Caldwell was fired at the end of the season.
On March 15, 2018, theOakland Raiders signed Whitehead to a three-year, $19 million contract that includes $6.27 million guaranteed.[9][36]
On March 9, 2020, Whitehead was released by the Raiders.[37]
On March 23, 2020, Whitehead signed a one-year contract with theCarolina Panthers.[38] He played in 14 games with nine starts recording 51 tackles, which was seventh on the team.
On November 2, 2021, Whitehead was signed to theArizona Cardinals practice squad.[39] He was released on January 11, 2022.[40]
On September 9, 2022, Whitehead signed a one-day contract with theDetroit Lions to officially retire with the team.[41]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2012 | DET | 14 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | DET | 16 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | DET | 16 | 15 | 86 | 63 | 23 | 0.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | DET | 16 | 8 | 51 | 40 | 11 | 2.0 | 7 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | DET | 15 | 15 | 132 | 99 | 33 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | DET | 16 | 16 | 110 | 78 | 32 | 1.0 | 9 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| 2018 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 126 | 89 | 37 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 108 | 79 | 29 | 0.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | CAR | 14 | 9 | 51 | 27 | 24 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 2021 | ARI | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 142 | 95 | 685 | 490 | 195 | 3.0 | 38 | 6 | 46 | 0 | 26 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 0 | |
| Years | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2014 | DET | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | DET | 1 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 2 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Whitehead is the nephew of former NFLdefensive endWillie Whitehead. Whitehead is married and has four sons.[33] He is the older brother ofDariq Whitehead, a former 5-star recruit who played on theDuke Blue Devils men's basketball team and was selected 22nd overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2023 NBA draft.
They informed Whitehead, a 2008 graduate of Newark's West Side High School, they had selected him with their fifth-round pick — the 138th overall — of the 2012 NFL draft.
Media related toTahir Whitehead at Wikimedia Commons
