He played for nine seasons in the NFL with the Tennessee Oilers / Titans, Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins.

[1] In 1999, the Titans made it to Super Bowl XXXIV in which Salave'a appeared as a substitute,[2] however they lost to the Kurt Warner-led St. Louis Rams.

Playing primarily as a backup, Salave'a had a breakthrough year in 2004, registering 30 tackles and two sacks for the second-ranked Redskins defense.

On December 16, 2010, Salave’a was named the defensive line coach at the University of Arizona.

When Rich Rodriguez was hired as head coach at Arizona for the 2012 season, Salave'a was not retained.