Whitehead began his pro career signing as an undrafted free agent with the
San Francisco 49ers for the 1995 season. After being cut by the 49ers, he split time between the
CFL's Baltimore Stallions active roster and the 49ers practice squad. The following season, he played with the CFL's
Montreal Alouettes and then in 1997 he led the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats in sacks and added 44 tackles. After his strong showing in the CFL, Whitehead spent the 1998 training camp with the
Detroit Lions before having a brief stint with the
Frankfurt Galaxy of
NFL Europe. In 1999, Whitehead found his place on a permanent NFL roster, earning a starting position with the
New Orleans Saints, with whom he has remained for the last eight seasons of his NFL career. He has the second most sacks among current Saints players with 24.5 sacks (the other defensive end
Charles Grant leads with 33). On June 15, 2007, the Saints released him. ==NFL career statistics==