Halapoulivaati Vaitai

Halapoulivaati Vaitai (born June 16, 1993) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL draft. He was born in Texas, but his parents are from Tonga.

Early life Vaitai attended Haltom High School where he played on the football team alongside his two younger brothers, who are twins. Halapoulivaati played tackle, Will played left guard, and Kevin played center. Vaitai was ranked as the 40th best high school offensive line prospect in the country and ranked third in Texas during his senior season in 2011–12. As a sophomore in 2013, he appeared in 12 games with seven starts. Five of his starts were at the right tackle position with two being at the left tackle position.

Philadelphia Eagles Vaitai was selected in the fifth round, 164th overall, by the Philadelphia Eagles, which was traded to them by the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for Brandon Boykin. He signed his rookie contract with the Eagles on May 6, 2016. The contract was for four years and $2,565,124. After starting right tackle Lane Johnson was suspended for ten games, Vaitai made his first start in Week 5. He held the starting job through Week 11 before suffering an MCL sprain in that game, keeping him out of the starting lineup the rest of the season.

In the 2017 season, Vaitai filled in for right-tackle Lane Johnson against the Carolina Panthers due to injury. He then filled in for injured left-tackle Jason Peters in Week 7 against the Washington Redskins and for the rest of the 2017 season. Vaitai ended the 2017 season with a Super Bowl championship for the Eagles when they defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl LII.

Detroit Lions On March 26, 2020, Vaitai signed a five-year, $50 million contract with the Detroit Lions. He was placed on injured reserve on November 25, 2020. On December 19, 2020, Vaitai was activated off of injured reserve.

On September 5, 2022, Vaitai was placed on injured reserve with a back injury. On September 14, Vaitai underwent back surgery. He was ruled out for the remainder of the season on October 28.

On March 23, 2023, Vaitai agreed to take a pay cut to remain with the Lions, and removed the 2024 season from his contract as a result. On November 14, Vaitai was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Personal life Vaitai is the son of Talikavili and Shirley Vaitai and is of Tongan descent. He is married to former TCU women's basketball player Caitlin Diaz.