The sophomore defender voiced his displeasure with himself, and the environment he finds himself in.
The New England Patriots entered the 2024 season — their first after long-time head coach Bill Belichick — in hopes of building a strong foundation for the future, and finding the players worth building around. Keion White, a second-round draft choice the previous year, looked like a lock to fall into that category.
However, the sophomore defensive lineman sounds not quite that sure about that.
Speaking in rather candid fashion with MassLive’s Karen Guregian, White opened up about a variety of issues. Along the way, he raised questions not just about his own personal outlook but the Patriots’ coaching staff and his relationship with it as well.
“I’m going to try to get through these next two games, and then figure it out after that, and see where the cards may lie for my future,” White said.
Contractually, there is no doubt where White’s cards lie. As a 2023 draft pick, he still remains under contract with the Patriots for two more seasons. However, his statements left plenty of room for speculation.
That is particularly true because a follow-up answer did not provide much more clarity either.
What did White mean by where the cards may lie? Did he mean his fit with the defensive scheme? Or, literally, his future with the team?
“Just in general. In terms of everything,” White answered. “I mean, anything is possible. It’s the NFL. Anything can happen year to year. It’s a production-based business. It is what it is. You just figure out where you go … something’s gotta change. That’s the way I feel at this point.”
White entered the 2024 season as a serious breakout candidate for the Patriots, and a cornerstone player in their front seven. He looked the part, too, early on in the season: he registered four combined sacks in his first two games.
However, he has cooled off significantly since then. Not only has White registered only one more sack — his five total still ties him for the team lead, though — he also is not pleased with the way he is defending the run defense.
While not going into detail about why that is the case, what he did say seemingly puts part of the blame on the coaching staff.
“It’s the honest truth. I operate in black and white. So if it is, it is. If it ain’t, it ain’t,” he said. “And I feel like I’m not playing good run defense. It’s a multitude of reasons why. It’s an internal thing we need to figure out.
“I don’t think it’s just one thing. I think it’s a lot of things. First and foremost, it’s me,” he went on. “I need to improve me, and being on the same page with what the coaches want. But I think it’s a lot of other things as well. Without going too much into details, that’s how I feel.”
As he noted, White will have two more opportunities this season to get back on track. The Patriots will host the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium in Weeks 17 and 18, respectively.