Ja'Whaun Louis Bentley (born August 24, 1996) is an
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 wit ...
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, pl ...
for 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 ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
(NFL). He played
college football at
Purdue. He was drafted by the Patriots in the fifth round of the
2018 NFL Draft
The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first dra ...
.
College career
Bentley started all four years at
Purdue, from 2014 to 2017. He had 97 tackles including 11.5 for loss in 2017. Bentley was named as an honorable mention for the 2017 All-Big Ten Conference team. He was the defensive MVP of the
2017 Foster Farms Bowl.
Professional career
New England Patriots
Bentley was drafted by 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 ...
in the fifth round (143rd overall) of the
2018 NFL Draft
The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first dra ...
. In the team's second preseason game, Bentley recovered a fumble forced by
Adrian Clayborn and returned it 54 yards for the touchdown. His strong play in the preseason earned Bentley a starting linebacker role alongside veterans
Dont'a Hightower and
Kyle Van Noy. In Week 3 against 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 For ...
, Bentley recorded his first career interception on a pass from
Matthew Stafford
John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...
that was intended for
Luke Willson. On September 26, 2018, Bentley was placed on injured reserve, due to a torn
bicep
The biceps or biceps brachii ( la, musculus biceps brachii, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join t ...
. Without Bentley, the Patriots reached
Super Bowl LIII
Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Con ...
, where they defeated the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...
13–3.
Bentley returned to health in 2019, but with Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, and Kyle Van Noy already in place, Bentley didn’t re-emerge as a key part of the Patriots’ defense. However, the 2020 season saw Bentley take over as the team’s top linebacker, as Hightower opted out of the season due to COVID-19, and Collins and Van Noy departed in free agency.
In Week 8, against the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...
, Bentley recorded his first full sack of his career on
Josh Allen during the 24–21 loss.
On March 21, 2022, Bentley signed a two-year, $6 million contract extension with the Patriots.
He started all 17 games in 2022, recording a career-high and team-leading 125 tackles, along with three sacks, two passes defensed, and an interception.
References
1996 births
Living people
American football linebackers
New England Patriots players
Sportspeople from Prince George's County, Maryland
Players of American football from Maryland
Purdue Boilermakers football players
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