Philip Gregory Wheeler (born December 12, 1984) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He was drafted by 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

in the third round of the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. Wheeler has also played for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-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 of the league's National ...

, and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Early years

In 2000, Wheeler, a sophomore, helped lead the Shaw High School

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team to win the

Georgia High School Association The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) is an organization that governs athletics and activities for member high schools in Georgia, USA. GHSA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations. The association has 463 pu ...

's AAAA Football State Championship. As a senior, he was named as an Honorable Mention All-Region selection by PrepStar and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution named him as a first team Class AAAA All-State selection.

College career

In the 2005 season, Wheeler recorded 65 total tackles, 11.5 tackles-for-loss, 4.5 sacks, four interceptions, eight passes defended, and one forced fumble. In the 2006 season, he recorded 89 total tackles, 14.5 tackles-for-loss, nine sacks, five passes defended, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. In the 2007 season, he recorded 89 total tackles, nine tackles-for-loss, six sacks, five passes defended, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Wheeler was drafted by the

in the third round (93rd pick) of the

. He played for the Colts from 2008 to 2011.

Oakland Raiders

Wheeler signed a one-year contract with the

on March 30, 2012. He had a career year totaling 109 tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Miami Dolphins

Wheeler signed with the

on March 12, 2013 to a 5-year, $25 million deal with $13 million guaranteed. Wheeler was brought in to replace

Kevin Burnett Kevin Bradley Burnett (born December 24, 1982) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders. He played college football at the Universit ...

. Wheeler was released by the Dolphins on March 10, 2015.

San Francisco 49ers

Wheeler was signed by the

on April 30, 2015. He was released by the 49ers on September 4.

Atlanta Falcons

Wheeler signed with the

on October 20, 2015. In the 2016 season, Wheeler and the Falcons reached

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confer ...

, where they faced the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

on February 5, 2017. In the Super Bowl, he had one total tackle as the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat.

Arizona Cardinals

On July 27, 2017, Wheeler signed with 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) West division, and play t ...

. He was released on September 8, 2017, but was re-signed a few days later. He was released again on September 15, 2017 but re-signed a few days later, only to be released again on September 25.

References

External links

*
Atlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Philip 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Columbus, Georgia American football linebackers Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Indianapolis Colts players Oakland Raiders players Miami Dolphins players San Francisco 49ers players Atlanta Falcons players Arizona Cardinals players