Whitfield was drafted in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He played for the Falcons from 1992–2003 before he was released by the team. He then played for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the 2004 season. Whitfield, a 1999 Pro Bowl’er, was a fixture on the Falcons offensive line that finished 14‐2 in the regular season. The team went on to upset the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game and advance to Super Bowl XXXIII. Whitfield attended Stanford University, where he was a consensus All-America student-athlete in his junior season. Although he made an early draft departure, Bob returned to the university to complete a Bachelors Degree of Arts in Economics in 2012. He was inducted in the Stanford Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.