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Jahlani Tavai

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Jahlani Tavai
Tavai at 2017 Mountain West media day
No. 48 – New England Patriots
PositionLinebacker
Roster statusActive
Personal information
Born (1996-09-28) September 28, 1996 (age 29)
Inglewood, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High schoolMira Costa (Manhattan Beach, California)
CollegeHawaii (2014–2018)
NFL draft2019: 2nd round, 43rd overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
  • First-team All-Mountain West (2016)
  • Second-team All-Mountain West (2017)
Career NFL statistics as of 2025
Total tackles466
Sacks5.5
Forced fumbles6
Fumble recoveries2
Pass deflections14
Interceptions4
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 for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.[1]

College career

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College statistics

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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

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span Wingspan 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)		 6 ft 6 in
(1.98 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][5]

Detroit Lions

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Tavai was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2019 NFL draft.[6] 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.[7]

On August 31, 2021, Tavai was waived by the Lions as part of the final pre-season roster cuts.[8]

New England Patriots

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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.[9][10][11] He was promoted to the active roster on October 13.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14] He played in 17 games (16 starts) for New England, recording one interception, five pass deflections, one sack, and 115 combined tackles.

Tavai began the 2025 season on injured reserve after suffering an undisclosed injury.[15] On October 4, 2025, Tavai was activated ahead of New England's Week 5 matchup against the Buffalo Bills.[16] He started in Super Bowl LX, a 29–13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.[17]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR
2019 DET 15 6 58 37 21 2.0 0 2 1 2 2.0 2 0 1 0
2020 DET 16 10 58 32 26 0.0 0 0 0 0 – – – 2 1
2021 NE 13 0 14 6 8 0.0 0 0 0 0 – – – 0 1
2022 NE 17 12 69 37 32 1.5 0 2 0 0 – – – 0 0
2023 NE 17 16 110 65 45 1.0 0 5 2 2 1.0 2 0 2 0
2024 NE 17 16 115 58 57 1.0 0 5 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2025 NE 12 7 42 21 21 0.0 0 0 0 0 – – – 1 0
Career 107 67 466 256 210 5.5 0 14 4 4 1.0 2 0 6 2

Postseason

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR
2021 NE 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 – – – – 0 0
2025 NE 1 0 3 1 2 0.0 0 0 0 – – – – 0 0
Career 2 0 3 1 2 0.0 0 0 0 – – – – 0 0

References

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  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. ^ "Meet Lions draft picks Jahlani Tavai, Will Harris". DetroitNews.com. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Birkett, Dave (December 23, 2019). "Detroit Lions place rookie LB Jahlani Tavai (shoulder) on injured reserve". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  8. ^ "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. August 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "Report: Patriots adding ex-Lions LB to practice squad". RSN. September 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "Lions waive former University of Hawaii star and second-round pick LB Jahlani Tavai". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  11. ^ Meinke, Kyle (September 1, 2021). "Yep, ex-Lions LB Jahlani Tavai really is signing with New England's practice squad". mlive. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ Smith, Michael David (November 29, 2022). "Patriots, Jahlani Tavai agree to two-year contract extension". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  14. ^ Dussault, Mike (July 2, 2024). "Report: Patriots Extend Linebacker Jahlani Tavai". Patriots.com. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  15. ^ "Patriots' Jahlani Tavai: Ends up on IR". cbssports.com. August 28, 2025. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  16. ^ D'Abate, Mike (October 4, 2025). "Patriots Activate Veteran LB from IR". New England Patriots On SI. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  17. ^ "Super Bowl LX - Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots - February 8th, 2026". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
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