Keion White views himself as more of a threat on the interior
New England Patriots second-year defender Keion White doesn’t view himself as the individual most likely to fill the void of recently traded edge rusher Matthew Judon.
Speaking to NESN’s Sean T. McGuire after the Patriots preseason loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night, White name-dropped Joshua Uche and Oshane Ximenes as two edge rushers he believes will help replace Judon.
New England traded Judon to the Atlanta Falcons last week and received a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
In the latest episode of NESN’s “Foxboro Rush” podcast, McGuire relayed what he took away from his conversation with White.
“The whole outside perception now is what you’re talking about, and kind of what I thought too, is that Keion White is going to be such a key factor in replacing Judon off the edge,” McGuire said alongside co-host George Balekji. “He (White) doesn’t think of it that way. He kind of said, ‘My preference is to be the interior rusher.’ He feels he’s fast on the interior and slower on the edge, so when it comes to obvious passing downs, third-and-longs and those sorts of things, in Keion White’s mind he would rather be on the interior than on the edge.”
White started Thursday’s preseason game on the edge opposite Anfernee Jennings, who’s stood up in the run game. Deatrich Wise and Uche were the two edge rushers to take the field on Philadelphia’s initial third down as White moved to the interior.
“That’s not to say his (White’s) production in the grand scheme of things won’t make up for what Judon’s leaving behind,” McGuire said. “Keion White actually mentioned both Josh Uche and (Oshane) Ximines as those sorts of (edge) players that will make up for Judon.”
You can check out “Foxboro Rush” in the YouTube or Spotify links above.