page_title: Donte Whitner
section_title: San Francisco 49ers
hierarchical_section_title: Donte Whitner / Professional career / San Francisco 49ers
caption_attribution_description: English: 49ers safety Donte Whitner during the 49ers' season opener in 2013
context_page_description: Donte Demetrius Whitner Sr. is a former professional American football strong safety. He played college football at Ohio State, and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills eighth overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. Whitner has also played for the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Washington Redskins.
context_section_description: On August 4, 2011, Whitner signed with the San Francisco 49ers. After previously announcing on Twitter that he would be going to the Cincinnati Bengals, he changed his mind and signed with San Francisco. He agreed to a three-year, $11.75 million deal with $4 million guaranteed. After his performance in his first year as a 49er, he was named to the USA Today All Joe Team During the 2011 playoffs, Whitner became famous for making vicious hits like against New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas as he was driving for a touchdown. The hit forced a fumble recovered by the 49ers and took Thomas out for the rest of the game.
  At the end of the 2012 season, Whitner and the 49ers appeared in Super Bowl XLVII. In the game, he had eight combined tackles as the 49ers fell to the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 34–31.
  In 2013, in a game against the St. Louis Rams, Whitner was fined for a hit on receiver Chris Givens. In response to the fine, he indicated that he would be legally changing his last name from "Whitner" to "Hitner", dropping the "W" from his surname.  In an appearance on NFL Network's "NFL Total Access" on November 27, 2013, Whitner indicated that his request was to be processed on November 19, but had to be withdrawn when he was unable to honor the judge's requirement that he appear in court. During the same interview, Whitner indicated that he would pursue his name change during the offseason.
caption: Whitner with the 49ers in 2013
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