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 line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. 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 ...

for

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

, and was drafted 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) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

in the fifth round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

Early years

A native of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

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 building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

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 is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

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

Professional career

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 Footb ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th 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

The

selected Whitehead in the fifth round (138th overall) of the

. 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. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

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 Bernard Hayward Pierce (born May 10, 1990) is a former American football running back. He played college football for Temple University. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Early years Pierce atten ...

and

Evan Rodriguez Evan Junior Rodriguez (born September 21, 1988) is a former American football tight end. He played college football for Temple Owls football, Temple. He is Moorish American from his Nigerian & Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Rodri ...

2012

On March 10, 2012, the Detroit Lions signed Whitehead to a four-year, $2.31 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

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. Head coach

Jim Schwartz James J. Schwartz (born June 2, 1966) is an American football coach who is a Senior Defensive Assistant for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was head coach of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) ...

named Whitehead the backup outside linebacker behind

Justin Durant Justin Ryan Durant (born September 21, 1985) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons. He was drafted by the Jaguars ...

DeAndre Levy DeAndre Levy (born March 26, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Early years Levy was born in Milwaukee, Wiscons ...

, 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) 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 ...

. His first career tackle and forced fumble came as he was covering a kick return and tackled

Kendall Hunter Kendall Bernell Hunter (born September 16, 1988) is a former American football running back. He played college football for Oklahoma State University, and earned consensus All-American honors. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the fourt ...

. He caused a Hunter to fumble and the ball was recovered by

Kassim Osgood Kassim Alexandre Osgood (; born May 20, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and special teamer in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for San Diego State University and C ...

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 Ashlee Palmer (born April 7, 1986) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Mississippi. On May 26, 2012, Palmer was inducted into the Compton C ...

, Travis Lewis, and

Rocky McIntosh Roger A. "Rocky" McIntosh Jr. (born November 15, 1982) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Miami. Early l ...

for the starting outside linebacker role that was left vacant after the departure of

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. 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 Kyle Van Noy (born March 26, 1991) is an American football linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). Van Noy played college football at BYU was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Detro ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

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 Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern high school. Br ...

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 The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough ri ...

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 Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...

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 Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

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

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 football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...

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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. 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 football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Van ...

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

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

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 drafted Jarrad Davis is the first round (21st overall) of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

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 a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...

as the Lions defeated the

24-10 on ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

''. 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

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 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 ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. 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) West division, and play t ...

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

Retirement

On September 9, 2022, Whitehead signed a one-day contract with the Detroit Lions to officially retire with the team.

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 is now a freshman 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 cu ...

team.

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