BIOGRAPHY
Tahir Ali Whitehead was born on April 2nd, 1990 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He is a linebacker in the NFL.
Whitehead played college football for Temple University. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Whitehead is the nephew of former NFL defensive end Willie Whitehead. Whitehead is married and has three sons.
A native of Newark, New Jersey, Whitehead played high school football at West Side High School, where he was part of the team that won the 2007 state sectional championship. Whitehead played four years for Temple 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 for the first time since 1979. Whitehead was named a Second Team All-MAC selection following the season.
Whitehead attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana 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.
On 2012 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions selcected Whitehead in the fifth round. On March 10, 2012, the Detroit Lions signed Whitehead to a four-year, $2.31 million contract that included a signing bonus of $212,000. In 2014, he earned his first career start in the Detroit Lions' season-opener against the New York Giants 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. Whitehead continued his career with the Detroit Lions until 2017. On March 15, 2018, the Oakland Raiders signed Whitehead to a three-year, $19 million contract that includes $6.27 million guaranteed.
