Philadelphia Eagles Gaither was selected in the fifth round of the
2006 NFL draft by the
Philadelphia Eagles. 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 win against the
Carolina Panthers. He became the starter at weakside linebacker for the final 7 games (post and regular season) and finished with 58 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 interception. 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, and started all 16 games at middle linebacker and tallied team highs in tackles (70) and quarterback 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. 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 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 in favor of
Akeem Jordan. After
starting middle linebacker Bradley suffered a torn
ACL which caused him to be placed on
injured reserve in 2009, Gaither beat out second-year linebacker
Joe Mays for the starting position. Four weeks into the season, however, the Eagles re-signed Trotter to replace Gaither on first- and second-down plays. Gaither suffered a
Lisfranc sprain during a game against the
Oakland Raiders and was placed on injured reserve on October 28, 2009. Gaither was re-signed to a one-year contract on March 31, 2010.
Carolina Panthers Gaither was signed by the
Carolina Panthers on July 31, 2011, played in all four pre-season games and ten regular season games (started four), and was released on March 13, 2012.
Houston Texans The
Houston Texans signed Gaither on August 9, 2012, but released him during final cuts.
Oakland Raiders The Raiders signed Gaither on November 14, 2012, to replace the injured
Travis Goethel. Gaither re-signed with the Raiders on July 29, 2013, but released him during final cuts.
Atlanta Falcons The
Atlanta Falcons signed Gaither, along with fellow Eagles teammate
Jamar Chaney, on September 17, 2013, to replace the injured
Sean Weatherspoon. ==NFL career statistics==