On March 16, 2012, he attended Temple's pro day and opted to run all of the combine drills for the scouts and team representatives.

[10] Head coach Jim Schwartz named Whitehead the backup outside linebacker behind Justin Durant, DeAndre Levy, and Doug Hogue to start the regular season.

He appeared mainly on special teams during his rookie season and finished with a total of 11 combined tackles (eight solo) and a forced fumble in 14 games and zero starts.

[13] Whitehead returned to training camp in 2013 and competed against Ashlee Palmer, Travis Lewis, and Rocky McIntosh for the starting outside linebacker role that was left vacant after the departure of Justin Durant to the Dallas Cowboys in free agency.

[14][15] Head coach Jim Shwartz named him the backup to Ashlee Palmer and DeAndre Levy to start the regular season.

[19] He earned his first career start in the Detroit Lions' season-opener against the New York Giants and made one solo tackle in the 35–14 victory.

On September 28, 2014, Whitehead earned his first start at middle linebacker after Stephen Tulloch tore his ACL while celebrating a sack the previous week.

[20] He recorded a season-high 12 combined tackles in the Lions' 24–17 win at the New York Jets and remained the starting middle linebacker for the rest of the season.

In Week 10, Whitehead made his first start of the season, replacing Travis Lewis at outside linebacker, and recorded eight combined tackles, deflected a pass, and sacked Aaron Rodgers during an 18–16 victory at the Green Bay Packers.

[9][28][29] Whitehead entered training camp slated as the starting middle linebacker after Stephen Tulloch departed during the offseason.

[30] He started the Detroit Lions' season-opener at the Indianapolis Colts and made ten combined tackles and two pass deflections in their 39–35 victory.

[34] On September 18, 2017, Whitehead recorded eight combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception on Eli Manning as the Lions defeated the New York Giants 24-10 on Monday Night Football.

The Detroit Lions finished second in the NFC North with a 9-7 record and head coach Jim Caldwell was fired at the end of the season.

[33] He is the older brother of Dariq Whitehead, a former 5-star recruit who played on the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team and was selected 22nd overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2023 NBA draft.