Omar Gaither
Encyclopedia
Philadelphia Eagles
Gaither was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
by the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Gaither received significant playing time later in the 2006 season due to the struggles and injury of starter Matt McCoy. Gaither got his first NFL start at weakside linebacker on December 4, 2006 on a Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
win against the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
. He became the starter at WILL linebacker for the final 7 games (post and regular season) and finished with 58 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 INT. Ranked second on the team in special teams tackles (30) and 4th in special teams production points (185).
Gaither was named the starter at middle linebacker in 2007 after the release of Jeremiah Trotter
Jeremiah Trotter
Jeremiah Trotter is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Stephen F...
, and started all 16 games at MLB and tallied team highs in tackles (170) and QB hurries (14). He also ranked second on the team with 14 KDs, intercepting one pass, defending seven passes, and forcing one fumble.
Prior to the start of 2008, Gaither was moved back to his true position of weakside linebacker to make move room for Stewart Bradley
Stewart Bradley
Stewart Bradley is an American football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
. Though not an indictment of Gaither's performance, Bradley took over the MLB spot largely in part to his phenomenal first start against the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
in week 16 of 2007 (a game in which Gaither played Weakside ("Will") Linebacker). Gaither was benched prior to the week 12 game at the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
in favor of Akeem Jordan
Akeem Jordan
Akeem Raphael Jordan is an American football linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He was signed by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at James Madison....
.
After starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
middle linebacker Stewart Bradley
Stewart Bradley
Stewart Bradley is an American football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
suffered a torn ACL
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
which caused him to be placed on injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
in 2009, Gaither beat out second-year linebacker Joe Mays
Joe Mays (American football)
Joseph Lamont "Joe" Mays is an American football linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Dakota State.-Early years:Joe attended Hyde Park High School...
for the starting position. Four weeks into the season, however, the Eagles re-signed Jeremiah Trotter
Jeremiah Trotter
Jeremiah Trotter is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Stephen F...
to replace Gaither on first- and second-down plays. Gaither suffered a Lisfranc
Lisfranc
Lisfranc may refer to:*Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin*Lisfranc fracture*Lisfranc joint*Lisfranc ligament...
sprain during a game against the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and was placed on injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
on October 28, 2009.
Gaither was re-signed to a one-year contract on March 31, 2010.