By Dianna Russini, Matt Barrows and Chad Graff
The San Francisco 49ers are acquiring defensive end Keion White from the New England Patriots, league sources said Tuesday, providing reinforcements to a pass rush decimated by injuries. The 49ers will send the Patriots a 2026 sixth-round pick and receive a 2026 seventh-round pick in return, sources said.
The Patriots drafted White, 26, in the second round in 2023. He got off to a sizzling start in 2024, posting four sacks in the first two games, but he had just two sacks in his other 36 games with the Patriots and has started only one game this season.
The 49ers, who are 5-3, lost defensive end Nick Bosa to a season-ending knee injury in Week 3 and are currently without pass-rush specialist Bryce Huff because of a hamstring injury.
Why the 49ers made the move
The 49ers desperately needed an edge rusher after Bosa went down with an ACL tear in Week 3 and other defensive ends got hurt soon thereafter. The team played Sunday against the Houston Texans without Bosa, Huff (hamstring) and Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring), while Sam Okuayinonu left the contest with a sprained ankle. Not surprisingly, the Niners came away from that game with no sacks and just two quarterback hits while the Texans dominated the time of possession.
Furthermore, the Carolina Panthers swiped another defensive end, Trevis Gipson, off the 49ers’ practice squad on Tuesday. The team had leaned on Gipson heavily in recent contests, and he played 39 snaps in Houston.
How he fits
At 6 feet 5, 285 pounds and with 34-inch arms, White has excellent size for the defensive line. He’s similar in physique to 49ers 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams. The Patriots mostly used White as a defensive end over the past three seasons, but he’s played well over 100 snaps at defensive tackle, mainly on obvious passing downs. He has 3.5 career sacks on the edge and 2.5 from interior alignments. In that way, he’s similar to players the 49ers have acquired in the past: Arden Key, Charles Omenihu, Yetur Gross-Matos and Williams.
The 49ers got a good look at White in Week 4 last season. It wasn’t a great outing for the Patriots’ defense — they lost 30-13 — but White had three tackles (one for loss) and two quarterback hits. He played 53 snaps, the most for a Patriots defensive lineman that day.
At minimum, White gives the team another body at its thinnest position, especially as a versatile lineman on passing downs. He also seems to have good upside. He’s only 26, he’s signed through the 2026 season on a reasonable contract and he had five sacks and 45 pressures as recently as last season.
White’s role had become more limited
White becomes just the latest player from the Bill Belichick era to be jettisoned by first-year coach Mike Vrabel.
There was hope at the outset that White would take to Vrabel’s style, especially considering that his size fits what Vrabel typically looks for at the position and because it’s a premier spot where the Patriots lack depth.
But while White entered training camp with a starting role, his playing time steadily decreased, culminating in his spot as a healthy scratch on Sunday against the Browns.
There were hopes not long ago that White would become the next great New England edge rusher. He notched four sacks in the first two games last season and looked like he’d be an important piece of the defense for years to come.
But White’s play dipped after that as he notched just one sack in the final 15 games of 2024.
He seemed like a perfect candidate for a bounce-back under Vrabel. His practice performances at the start of training camp were impressive, using his strength and long arms well. He lacked consistency, though, and fell out of the starting rotation.
What the deal means for the Patriots
For the Patriots, this ups the urgency to find depth at edge rusher before next week’s trade deadline.
They had already been focused on that position in preliminary trade calls, a source told The Athletic last week, and this move adds to the importance there.
New England’s starting duo of Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson ranks below league average, and the depth behind them is well below average. So an addition at edge rusher should be considered likely.
Some options for them (outside of Trey Hendrickson of the Bengals) are the Dolphins’ Jaelan Phillips and the Titans’ Dre’Mont Jones or Arden Key.
Last week, the Patriots claimed Caleb Murphy off waivers from the Chargers to add depth to the position.
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