Halapoulivaati Vaitai

BIOGRAPHY

Halapoulivaati Vaitai was born June 16, 1993, in Fort Worth Texas. He is an offensive tackle in the NFL. As a freshman in 2012, Vaitai appeared in five games as a backup offensive lineman. As a sophomore in 2013, he appeared in 12 games with seven starts. Five of his starts were at the right tackle position with two being at the left tackle position. As a junior in 2014, Vaitai was a second-team All-Big 12 selection. He started all 13 games at right tackle. He helped the TCU offense finish second in the nation in scoring with an average of 46.5 points per game and tied for fifth in total offense with an average of 533 yards per game. As a senior in 2015, he was a second-team All-Big 12 selection by head coaches and the Associated Press. He played in 12 of 13 total games with 10 starts. He was a member of an offensive line that helped the Horned Frogs produce both a 1,000-yard rusher and receiver for only the second time in school history. Vaitai was drafted in the fifth round, 164th overall, by the Philadelphia Eagles. It was announced on May 6, 2016, that he had signed his rookie contract with the Eagles. The contract was reportedly for four years and $2,565,124. After starting right tackle Lane Johnson was suspended for ten games, Vaitai made his first start in Week 5. He held the starting job through Week 11 before suffering an MCL sprain in that game, keeping him out of the starting lineup the rest of the season.
In the 2017 season, Vaitai filled in for right-tackle Lane Johnson against the Carolina Panthers due to injury. He would then fill in for injured left-tackle Jason Peters in Week 7 against the Washington Redskins and for the rest of the 2017 season. Vaitai would end the 2017 season with a Super Bowl championship for the Eagles when they defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. On March 26, 2020, Vaitai signed a five-year, $50 million contract with the Detroit Lions. He was placed on injured reserve on November 25, 2020. On December 19, 2020, Vaitai was activated off of injured reserve.