Ja'Whaun Bentley
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Ja'Whaun Louis Bentley (born August 24, 1996) is an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
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 ...
at
Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...
. 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 southwest of Dallas; it was ...
.


College career

A 3-star linebacker recruit, Bentley committed to play college football at
Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...
over offers from
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
,
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,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
,
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,
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,
Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...
,
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, and
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
. Bentley was a four-year starting linebacker and a three-time team captain at Purdue. As a senior in 2017, Bentley played in 12 games, starting 11, and recorded 97
tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...
, one sack, two forced fumbles, three pass breakups, and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown. Bentley was named as an honorable mention All-
Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...
linebacker for his efforts in the 2017 season. In 38 career games at Purdue from 2014–2017, Bentley recorded 272 tackles, one sack, two interceptions, seven pass deflections, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and one defensive touchdown. He was the defensive MVP of the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl.


Professional career

The
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
selected Bentley 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 southwest of Dallas; it was ...
. The Patriots acquired the pick in a trade that sent their third round pick (95th overall) to 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 ...
for a fifth round pick (143rd overall) and offensive tackle
Trent Brown Trenton Jacoby Brown (born April 13, 1993) is an American professional American football, football tackle (American football), offensive tackle for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia ...
. Bentley was the 18th linebacker drafted in 2018.


2018

On May 12, 2018, the New England Patriots signed Bentley to a four-year, $2.76 million contract that includes 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 $303,954. Throughout training camp, Bentley competed against veteran Elandon Roberts to earn the job as the starting outside linebacker. On August 16, 2018, Bentley recovered a fumble forced by Adrian Clayborn and returned it 54-yards for the touchdown in the Patriots' 37–20 victory 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 ...
.. Head coach
Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick ( ; born April 16, 1952) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, inc ...
named Bentley a backup outside linebacker behind Elandon Roberts to begin the regular season. On September 9, 2018, Bentley made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start alongside Dont'a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy, recording seven combined tackles (four solo) and one tackle for-a-loss as the Patriots defeated the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
27–20. In Week 3, Bentley recorded five combined tackles (three solo), a pass deflection, and made his first career
interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...
on a pass from
Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Georg ...
that was intended for Luke Willson in a 26–10 loss at 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 ...
. On September 26, 2018, the New England Patriots officially placed Bentley on injured-reserve, due to a torn bicep he suffered in the fourth quarter against the Lions. Bentley ended his rookie season with 14 combined tackles (nine solo), one pass deflection, one tackle for-a-loss, and an interception in three games and two starts. Without Bentley, the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
finished the
2018 NFL season The 2018 NFL season was the 99th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 53rd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 6, 2018, with the NFL Kickoff Game with the defending Super Bowl LII champion 2018 Philadelphia Eag ...
with an 11–5 record, finishing first in the
AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in th ...
. The Patriots would go on to defeat the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
41-28 in the AFC divisional round and defeated the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
37-31 in the
AFC Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the wo ...
. On February 3, 2019, the New England Patriots defeated the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
13–3 to win
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 Confe ...
.


2019

Bentley returned in time for training camp in 2019 and competed to be a starting outside linebacker against Jamie Collins and Elandon Roberts. Head coach Bill Belichick named Bentley the primary backup linebacker behind starters Dont'a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, and Jamie Collins. On December 15, 2019, Bentley recorded a season-high nine combined tackles (four solo) during a 34-13 victory at the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
. He completed his sophomore season with 43 combined tackles (29 solo), two tackles for-a-loss, and one pass deflection in 16 games and two starts. The Patriots finished the
2019 NFL season The 2019 NFL season was the 100th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 54th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 5, 2019, with the NFL Kickoff Game, in which the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears. T ...
atop the AFC East with a 12-4 record, but lost to the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...
in the AFC Wildcard Game.


2020

Bentley entered training camp slated as a starting linebacker and was required to lead the linebacking corps after the Patriots lost their top four linebackers from the previous season. Dont'a Hightower opted out of the season due to
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
while Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, and Elandon Roberts left via free agency. He was named the starting middle linebacker alongside outside linebackers John Simon and Brandon Copeland. On October 18, 2020, Bentley made 12 combined tackles (eight solo), a season-high two tackles for-a-loss, and was credited with half a sack on
Drew Lock Paul Andrew Lock (born November 10, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri Tigers football, Missou ...
marking the first of his career as the Patriots lost 12–18 against the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
. In Week 8, against the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
, Bentley recorded his first full sack of his career on Josh Allen during the 24–21 loss.


2021

Prior to the start of the 2021 season, Bentley changed his jersey number from 51 to 8 becoming the first Patriots player to use a new number with the new relaxed jersey number rule.


2022

On March 18, 2022, the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
signed Bentley to a two-year, $6.00 million contract extension that includes $3.90 million guaranteed upon signing and a signing bonus of $1.60 million. 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.


2023

On June 29, 2023, the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
signed Bentley to a two-year, $13.50 million contract extension that includes $9.00 million guaranteed upon signing and a signing bonus of $5.50 million. Bentley was signed to remain with the Patriots throughout the
2025 NFL season The 2025 NFL season is the 106th season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season is scheduled to begin on September 4, 2025, with reigning Super Bowl LIX, Super Bowl champion 2025 Philadelphia Eagles season, Philadelphia hosti ...
.


2024

Bentley played the first two games for the Patriots in 2024, recording 12 combined tackles. In the team's Week 2 game against the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
, he suffered a torn pectoral muscle and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. On March 28, 2025, Bentley was released by the Patriots.


References


External links


Purdue Boilermakers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Ja'Whaun 1996 births Living people American football linebackers DeMatha Catholic High School alumni New England Patriots players Players of American football from Prince George's County, Maryland Purdue Boilermakers football players