Tani Tupou


Taniela "Tani" Tupou is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Washington.

Early years

Tupou attended Archbishop Murphy high school in Everett, Washington where he played football as a strongside defensive end and as a tight end. He led the Wildcats to the WIAA State Championship game at the Tacoma Dome in 2010. Tupou graduated from Archbishop Murphy in 2011.

College career

Tupou verbally committed to the University of Washington on April 8, 2010. Tupou redshirted his first year on campus before playing the next four seasons. In his five years at Washington Tupou appeared in 46 games for the Huskies as a defensive tackle and recorded 59 tackles.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

On May 9, 2016, Seattle Seahawks signed Tupou as a fullback / defensive tackle after participating in their rookie mini-camp. He played in the team's season-opening victory over the Miami Dolphins on September 11.
On September 13, 2016, Tupou was released by the Seahawks.

Atlanta Falcons

During April 2017, Tupou played as a defensive tackle for The Spring League, a developmental football instructional league. Tupou received an invitation to attend rookie minicamp for the Atlanta Falcons. On May 14, 2017, following minicamp, Tupou signed with the Falcons. He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Falcons' practice squad the next day. He was released on September 6, 2017. He was signed to the practice squad on September 19. He was promoted to the active roster on October 10, 2017. He was waived on October 19, 2017 and was later re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Falcons on January 15, 2018.
On April 11, 2018, the Falcons waived Tupou with a non-football injury designation.

Arizona Cardinals

On August 22, 2018, Tupou signed with the Arizona Cardinals. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

San Diego Fleet

In 2019, Tupou joined the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football. In the first game of the season, Tupou recorded 2 tackles and a sack, and finished the year with 13 tackles and 4 quarterback hits. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Seattle Dragons

During the 2020 XFL Draft, the Seattle Dragons selected Tupou in the seventh round. He was placed on injured reserve before the start of the season on January 21, 2020. He was activated from injured reserve on March 11, 2020. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.