Jahlani Tavai

Jahlani Tavai
refer to caption
Tavai at 2017 Mountain West media day
No. 48 – New England Patriots
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1996-09-28) September 28, 1996 (age 28)
Inglewood, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school:Mira Costa (CA)
College:Hawaii (2014–2018)
NFL draft:2019 / round: 2 / pick: 43
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-Mountain West (2016)
  • Second-team All-Mountain West (2017)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2024
Total tackles:424
Sacks:5.5
Forced fumbles:5
Fumble recoveries:2
Pass deflections:14
Interceptions:4
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Jahlani Karl Tavai (born September 28, 1996) is an American professional football linebacker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He is the younger brother of J. R. Tavai and older brother of Justus Tavai. He played college football at Hawaii.[1]

College career

College statistics

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
Season Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Solo Ast Total Loss Sack Int Yards Avg TD PD FR Yards TD FF
2014 Redshirt Redshirt
2015 13 11 26 30 56 5.0 3.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2016 14 14 85 43 128 20.0 7.0 1 0 0.0 0 2 2 12 0 2
2017 12 12 66 58 124 11.0 5.5 1 8 8.0 0 1 1 15 0 0
2018 8 8 42 40 82 6.0 2.0 0 0 0.0 0 2 0 0 0 1
Career[2] 47 45 219 171 390 42.0 17.5 2 8 4.0 0 5 3 27 0 3

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 2+3⁄8 in
(1.89 m) 		250 lb
(113 kg) 		31+7⁄8 in
(0.81 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.86 s 1.70 s 2.79 s 4.41 s 33.5 in
(0.85 m)		 9 ft 2 in
(2.79 m)
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[3][4]

Detroit Lions

Tavai was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2019 NFL draft.[5] He played in 15 games in six starts, recording 58 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, two passes defensed and an interception. He suffered a shoulder injury in Week 16 and was placed on injured reserve on December 23, 2019.[6]

On August 31, 2021, Tavai was waived by the Lions as part of the final pre-season roster cuts.[7]

New England Patriots

After being released by Detroit, on September 1, 2021, the New England Patriots signed Tavai to their practice squad, eventually activating him, while reuniting with Matt Patricia, his former head coach in Detroit.[8][9][10] He was promoted to the active roster on October 13.[11]

Tavai began the 2022 season as a backup linebacker. He was named a starter in Week 5 and remained there the rest of the season. On November 29, 2022, Tavai signed a two-year, $4.4 million contract extension with the Patriots.[12] He finished the season with 69 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two passes defensed.

On July 2, 2024, Tavai signed a three-year contract extension with the Patriots worth $15 million.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Former 'Bows linebacker Jahlani Tavai records first career sack in Detroit Lions debut". KHON-TV. Associated Press. September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  2. ^ "Jahlani Tavai College Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "Jahlani Tavai Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  4. ^ "2019 Draft Scout Jahlani Tavai, Hawaii NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  5. ^ Birkett, Dave (April 26, 2019). "Detroit Lions take Hawaii LB Jahlani Tavai in Round 2 of 2019 NFL draft". Detroit Free Press. Gannett. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  6. ^ Birkett, Dave (December 23, 2019). "Detroit Lions place rookie LB Jahlani Tavai (shoulder) on injured reserve". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  7. ^ "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. August 31, 2021.
  8. ^ "Report: Patriots adding ex-Lions LB to practice squad". RSN. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "Lions waive former University of Hawaii star and second-round pick LB Jahlani Tavai". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "Yep, ex-Lions LB Jahlani Tavai really is signing with New England's practice squad". mlive. September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  11. ^ "Patriots sign linebacker Jahlani Tavai to the 53-man roster from the practice squad; Sign defensive back Sean Davis to the practice squad". Patriots.com. October 13, 2021.
  12. ^ Smith, Michael David (November 29, 2022). "Patriots, Jahlani Tavai agree to two-year contract extension". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  13. ^ Dussault, Mike (July 2, 2024). "Report: Patriots Extend Linebacker Jahlani Tavai". Patriots.com. Retrieved July 3, 2024.


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