Linebacker Tahir Whitehead is slated to hit the open market this offseason but his preference would be to return to the Lions, as Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press writes. However, there’s one major caveat: Whitehead is also focused on starting for someone in 2016. 
“Yes, that’s definitely one of the big factors because as a player in this league you don’t go somewhere or be on someone’s team just to be someone’s backup,” he said. “You want to go somewhere where you’re wanted, where you’re needed and you’re going to play. So I definitely want to be a starter. I think I’ve shown that I can be a starter in this league.”
Whitehead, 25, has worked his way up the roster since the Lions drafted him in the fifth round of the 2012 Draft. When Stephen Tulloch went down with a knee injury early in 2014, the Temple product was elevated to the starting lineup and wound up finishing second on the team in tackles. This year, Whitehead took a backseat to Tulloch in the first half of the season but he started the final eight games and looked strong.
Whitehead has appeared in all 16 of the Lions’ regular season games in the last three seasons. In 2015, he started nine of those 16 games, recording 47 total tackles, 1 sack, six pass deflections, and one interception.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Keep Whitehead, you sons of Russ Thomas.
Strongly agree sign this guy then you’ll have him and levy ten just draft or sign a middle linebacker and cut tulloch
If he’s above average and reasonably priced, he’d be a good fit for the Bills. They need ILB more than OLB, but Rex should be able to utilize him either way. Which is he by the way?
He’s a traditionally a MLB/ILB he filled in for Tulloch in the MLB spot last year