Tapper attended public schools in Baltimore, Maryland where his mother Rhonda Tapper worked as a school principal. Tapper's father died when he was 4 and he was raised by his mom. Rhonda Tapper later adopted two other boys for whom Charles served as a role model, flying them to Oklahoma to watch him play college football.[1]
He enrolled at Baltimore City College, where he focused on basketball, before starting to play football as a junior, only after his mother asked him to join the team or get a job.[2] He was a two-way player as a senior, finishing with 100 tackles and five sacks on defense, while also making 10 receptions for 200 yards and five touchdowns at tight end.
College career
Tapper accepted a football scholarship from the University of Oklahoma. As a true freshman, he appeared in 5 games. He tallied his first 2 tackles in the sixth game against the University of Kansas.
As a junior, he started all 13 games at defensive end. He registered 37 tackles (eight for loss), three sacks, two passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He had 5 tackles against the University of Texas. He made 6 tackles (1.5 for loss) against Oklahoma State University.
As a senior, he started all 13 games at defensive end. He posted 50 tackles (10 for loss), 7 sacks, 3 passes defensed, 4 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He had 8 tackles (one for loss) against West Virginia University. He made 6 tackles (2 for loss) and one sack against Baylor University. He had 6 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery against Texas Christian University.
Tapper was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round (101st overall) of the 2016 NFL draft, to play defensive end in a 4-3 defense.[4][5] In training camp he was diagnosed with a pre-existing back condition (pars defect) that had gone unnoticed since birth, which forced him to miss considerable time, including all of the preseason games and the first three weeks of the regular season. He was placed on injured reserve on September 28, 2016.[6]
In 2017, he made his debut against the New York Giants and tallied his first career sack. He was declared inactive in 2 games with the return of Damontre Moore from suspension. On October 4, he suffered a right broken foot during practice. On October 5, he was placed on the injured reserve list after undergoing surgery.[7]
On September 1, 2018, Tapper was waived by the Cowboys and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 4.[8][9][10]
New York Jets
On January 4, 2019, Tapper signed a reserve/future contract with the New York Jets.[11] He was waived with a non-football injury designation on May 10.[12] He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list after clearing waivers on May 13.
On May 5, 2020, he was waived with a Non-Football injury designation.[13] On June 8, 2020, Tapper announced his retirement from football.[14]
