 Mercilus with the Texans in 2012 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | July 21, 1990 Akron, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 258 lb (117 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Garfield (Akron, Ohio) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Illinois (2008–2011) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2012 / round: 1 / pick: 26 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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Whitney Mercilus (born July 21, 1990) is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons, primarily with the Houston Texans. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, where he won the Ted Hendricks Award and the Bill Willis Trophy, and was selected by the Texans in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft. Mercilus spent the entirety of his first nine seasons with Houston, earning a second-team All-Pro selection in 2016. After being released by the Texans early into the 2021 season, he last played for the Green Bay Packers.