Charles Tapper


Charles Orville Tapper, Jr. is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma.

Early years

Tapper attended public schools in Baltimore, Maryland where his mother Rhonda Tapper worked as a school principal. Tapper's father died when he was 4 and he was raised by his mom and an older adopted brother. Rhonda Tapper later adopted two other boys for whom Charles served as a role model, flying them to Oklahoma to watch him play college football.
Tapper attended Baltimore City College, where he focused on basketball, before starting to play football as a junior, only after his mother asked him to join the team or get a job. He was a two-way player as a senior, finishing with 100 tackles and five sacks on defense, while also tallying 10 receptions for 200 yards and five touchdowns at tight end.
He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Oklahoma. As a sophomore, he became a starter at defensive end in a 3-4 defense, making 49 tackles, 5.5 sacks and one pass defensed.
The next year, he registered 37 tackles, three sacks, two passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. As a senior, he posted 50 tackles, 7 sacks, 3 passes defensed, 4 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Tapper was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, to play defensive end in a 4-3 defense. In training camp he was diagnosed with a pre-existing back condition that had gone unnoticed since birth, which forced him to miss considerable time, including all of the preseason games and the first three weeks of the regular season. He was placed on injured reserve on September 28, 2016.
In 2017, he made his debut against the New York Giants and tallied his first career sack. He was declared inactive in 2 games with the return of Damontre Moore from suspension. On October 4, he suffered a right broken foot during practice. On October 5, he was placed on the injured reserve list after undergoing surgery.
On September 1, 2018, Tapper was waived by the Cowboys and was signed to the practice squad the next day, only to be released two days later.

New York Jets

On January 4, 2019, Tapper signed a reserve/future contract with the New York Jets. He was waived with a non-football injury designation on May 11, 2019. He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list after clearing waivers on May 13. He was waived with a non-football injury designation again on May 5, 2020.