New England Patriots edge rusher, Keion White, lining up against the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter on January 5, 2025.
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New England Patriots edge rusher, Keion White, lining up against the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter on January 5, 2025.
The New England Patriots made an interesting decision during training camp when they decided to award new signing and former first round pick, K’Lavon Chaisson the starting outside linebacker role opposite fellow free agent acquisition, Harold Landry III.
That role came at the expense of 2023 second round pick, Keion White, who started all but four games in 2024, managing 5 sacks and 56 combined tackles.
White was widely expected to be the starter alongside the former Titan, and despite Chaisson’s historical pedigree coming out of the draft in 2020 as the 20th overall pick, it came as a relatively big shock to both the media and fanbase.
However, the former Georgia Tech man is not too fazed by the demotion – and, speaking to Mass Live’s Karen Guregian, has a fairly good outlook on the situation.
Keion White Keeps Optimistic Viewpoint After Losing Starting Job
“As long as I have a job, I like the fact that I have one,” White said to Guregian on Thursday. “I could care less. They could put me at corner. If they’re going to pay me, I’ll play it.”
White in fact praised the competitive environment cultivated by new head coach, Mike Vrabel, and reiterated his focus to come in and play at the best of his abilities, wherever he is located on the depth chart.
“I think what a lot of the media sees is competition, I think Vrabel has done a good job of making it a very competitive environment for all positions. Every day, I just have to come in here and compete.”
“Competition makes everyone better, me being able to compete every day is just going to make me push myself harder to be at the top.”
How Does Keion White Feel About The Defensive Line Prior To The Regular Season?
Per Guregian, the 26-year old does not tend to tune into the media attention, but believes that there are certainly core members of the defensive line who are not given their dues by the press.
“For me, I kind of ignore the noise. I don’t really follow all that stuff. Because, if you listen to all the hype, you have to listen to all the negative stuff, too,” White continued, “And so, I kind of like where we’re at between Harold (Landry) and KC (Chaisson) having a big role in our room.
“Obviously, we have (Christian) Barmore and Milton (Williams) on the D-line and people like Jeremiah Pharms, who in my opinion, is undervalued by the media of how much he contributes. But I really think we have a good unit, for sure.”
On paper, the unit looks solid, rather than spectacular. But if Barmore can return to his bulldozing best, and Williams can replicate his excellent form during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run this past season, then the middle could be more one of the more tricky interior pass rushes to deal with in the NFL.
White will still have a reasonable role to play on defense, even if he is not the number one guy, for now.