With his snap count decreasing every week, it was defensive end Keion White who received a healthy scratch by the New England Patriots on Sunday for Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns. It was the first time in his career that the team elected not to have him suit up for a game.
White, who fits the physical structure of the type of player head coach Mike Vrabel wants in his aggressive defensive scheme, has slowly been ostracized from the game plans each week. The Nov. 4 trade deadline is just around the corner, and these decisions are more than enough to lead one to wonder if White will be moved by the deadline.
It's worth mentioning that there’s a clear disconnect regarding White within the Patriots facility, as outside linebackers coach Mike Smith has praised White for his work ethic, saying he still views White as a starter. A role White held in 13 games for this defense just last season.
“We’re not having a lot of depth there right now and with him [White] being out a couple weeks, it’s tough because we want to keep these guys fresh and keep them rolling," White said, via the team's official YouTube page. "I see Keion as a starter, even though he’s not out there with K.C [K’Lavon Chaisson] or Harold [Landry].”
There is a major contradiction between how Smith and Vrabel each view White, as the position coach feels that White can be an asset to the team, while the head coach doesn’t believe that he can. Also, if the Patriots are interested in adding depth to the edge, why would they trade an edge defender with the physical qualities that they want?
The Writing Is on the Wall for Keion White and the Patriots
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that the Patriots could trade White at the deadline and that some front offices are expecting a parting of the ways with New England and its 2023 second-round pick.
The Patriots are already thin at the edge position. It doesn’t fully add up why they’d move on from White right now. It seems that not having White could cause more problems if an injury were to happen to any of the outside linebackers and edge players.
Due to how he has been utilized this season, White is not the type of appealing trade target that would leave any team knocking down the door to acquire him. It’s possible that White could just be cut from the team if New England adds a defensive end by the trade deadline.
If the Patriots do move on from White, it will follow the trend of Vrabel dismissing players who are from the former coaching regimes, most of whom are defensive, long-tenured players.