Family: Another Reason Tahir Whitehead Chose Carolina
Players choose new free agency destinations for a variety of reasons. For Tahir Whitehead, he chose Carolina due to his past with Panthers’ new head coach Matt Rhule, and the relationship they formed at Temple, but family was also another significant factor in Whitehead’s decision to come suit up in the silver and blue.
“I got an aunt that lives in the Charlotte area,” Whitehead said last week. “I was actually thinking about purchasing a home in Charlotte before this whole thing happened so it's funny how things worked out.”
Tahir is a family man and being close to Georgia was important for him as he was in Oakland and Detroit during his previous two stops, so he wanted his next destination to just be a short car drive away.
“A big thing for me was how close Charlotte is to home,” Whitehead explained. “I've lived in Atlanta for about five years and it's only a three-and-a-half-hour drive. My family always travels together so that was big for me. I have family that lives in the Charlotte area too, but also I know the love for football that everyone has in the Carolinas.
“I played at Carolina one time when I was with Detroit earlier in my career and just the atmosphere and everything stuck out to me. I only heard great things about playing there. Mike Adams told me how much I’d love it here and other guys that don't even play here anymore have reached out and told me how much I'll love it.”
Tahir has four boys that he's very close with and assists his wife in homeschooling them - he had to do his zoom call from his backyard because he said all everyone would have heard inside was his boys flying around and screaming.
Being at home has been a blessing for him during these uncertain times amid the Coronavirus, as he can spend extra time with his family. But COVID-19 hasn’t affected his offseason training regiment as he's trained from home during the last five years so he can be around his family as much as possible. He has several free weights at his house along with using a peloton bike, elliptical, and jumping rope to stay in shape.
Quarantine workouts are more suited to Whitehead compared to other professional athletes currently so he may have a notch up on his competitors that are struggling to work out for the upcoming NFL season. Whitehead’s mindset is it doesn’t matter where you work out as long as you put in the necessary effort to get the results. Whatever he’s been doing during the offseason has certainly been working as he’s registered four straight seasons with 100 or more tackles.
“No matter if you're in your basement, your high school weight room, or a top-notch training facility, the work still has to get done,” Tahir said. “You have to find a way to get it done no matter where you are.”
Whitehead is entering his ninth NFL season and is looking to be a pivotal piece on a Panthers defense that lost eight starters from 2019 to free agency. His veteran presence, aggressive play style, and leadership will be a key factor for the Panthers as they head into a 2020 season with plenty of new faces.
“I'm just excited to be in Carolina. I'm excited. I get another opportunity to play the game that I love in a great city and a great area that really loves football.”
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