Keion White
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New England Patriots defensive end Keion White.
It appeared as though fan favorite New England Patriots’ edge rusher, Keion White, might have been getting phased out of this Pats’ pass rush. However, if head coach Mike Vrabel’s comments on Monday are to be considered truthful, this may not be the case.
“Well, there will be a rotation,” Vrabel said when asked if White would return to starting unit. “We’re going to play a lot of guys on defense.”
He then told reporters that there will be no true starters on his defense.
“I’ve had plenty of conversations with Keion and love how he works and love how he competes,” Vrabel continued. “So, we’re going to need him. We’re going to need all three of them, four of them, five of them, however many guys can help us on the edge and affect the quarterback. I think when everything is said and done, the snaps are going to be pretty even and equal.”
White Undeniably Falls Down Depth Chart
It’s one thing to say that there won’t be a diminished role for the former starter, its another to make him play a near full game in the preseason finale.
“White played 30 snaps in that preseason finale against the New York Giants. While fellow veteran pass-rushers Harold Landry III and K’Lavon Chaisson stood on the sidelines in street clothes, White was in a helmet and shoulder pads,” detailed NBC Boston’s Sean T. McGuire. “It was the most glaring indication that he’s slid down the depth chart behind Chaisson, who is now receiving the first-team snaps White did earlier in training camp.”
While on the outside looking in this may seem unexpected, however, there is a good chance that come Tuesdays roster finalization, White will be the only pre-Vrabel edge rusher left standing. Chaisson and Landry are both newcomers, while Bradyn Swinson and Elijah Ponder would round out the unit as rookies.
Reports confirm Anfernee Jennings is being shopped and will likely be traded or cut. This means White would be the only rusher who was not handpicked by this staff.
He is going to have to earn every snap he gets, as nothing will be handed to one of the few surviving members of the Belichick era.
Perry Labels White ‘Biggest Disappointment’
Of all the players at Patriots training camp, a collection of more than 90 personalities, Patriots insider Phil Perry believes Keion White was the most disappointing of them all.
In his six Patriots superlatives from the Next Pats podcast, fellow edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson took home the award for “most surprising” while White earned a regrettable acknowledgement.
“This guy has all the tools, and he continues to have all the tools, as he did as a rookie, as he did last year. Same is true this year,” Perry said. “And he gets the benefit of working with a head coach in Mike Vrabel, who has taken young, moldable pass-rushing talents in the past and turned them into great players. … And yet still, he doesn’t seem to be allowing that potential to reach the levels that we all believe that it can reach.”