Bill Belichick praises Patriots’ Keion White after Week 1 outing

Bill Belichick has been relatively mum about the Patriots’ season-opening win, but he was willing to give some high marks to one of their standouts in their 16-10 triumph over the Bengals.

In the most recent episode of “Inside the NFL,” former Patriots defensive end Chris Long nominated Patriots edge rusher Keion White as his “Football Guy” of Week 1. With fellow “Inside the NFL” panelists Ryan Clark nominating 49ers running back Jordan Mason and Chad Johnson nominating Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, Belichick picked Long’s nomination for the “Football Guy” of Week 1.

“I gotta give it to Keion White,” Belichick said. “First of all, I love Keion White. He can play outside. He can play inside. He’s tough, strong, and can really play the run. He can play the pass. He just needs a little bit more experience and technique. You saw what he did in Week 1.”

White, who was a second-round selection in Belichick’s final draft class with the Patriots in 2023, opened up his second season with one of the best defensive performances around the league in Week 1. He recorded four total tackles and 2.5 sacks, already surpassing the one he had as a rookie in 2023. He also had three run stops, per Pro Football Focus.

White also recorded a forced fumble on the Bengals’ first passing play of the game. Cincinnati was able to recover the ball, but the play stood out to Long as he called White an “absolute monster.”

“This guy wrecked the game the other day,” Long said. “In the second play of the game, he goes with an inside move and takes the ball off [Joe] Burrow. This guy has no gloves, wears no gloves. Bill says he doesn’t smile. This is the definition of a football guy. I love this kid. He can win all up and down the line.”

As Belichick noted, White is relatively raw for a 25-year-old. He switched from tight end to defensive end in the middle of his college career, only playing the position two years before entering the NFL. Even though White only had one sack as a rookie, he recorded 20 pressures and was viewed as one of the Patriots’ top standouts in training camp.

White’s emergence and Week 1 performance already has some thinking about his place with the team in the coming years. Former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich said the team should consider giving White an extension when they have the opputunity. White isn’t eligible to receive an extension until after the 2025 season.

Prior to Friday’s “Inside the NFL” episode, Belichick had actually said very little about his former team’s upset win in their first game without him. He wasn’t asked about the matter in his appearances with “The Pat McAfee Show” and the “ManningCast” on Monday.

Belichick showed his lighter side though during the “Football Guy” segment on “Inside the NFL” when the crew discussed Mason, who rushed for 147 yards in the 49ers’ win over the Jets.

“Jordan Mason, what a guy. This reminds me of Jonah Gray when he ran for 220 yards for me and was an inactive the next week,” Belichick said. “But this guy, great performance.”

If you recall, Jonas Gray was an undrafted running back who rushed for 199 yards and a franchise-record four touchdowns in a game against the Colts in 2014. The performance earned him a spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week. He only rushed for one more touchdown in his NFL career following that game, getting benched for a week after the Colts game due to his tardiness for a practice.

49ers fans certainly hope Mason won’t follow a similar trajectory. San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Friday that Christian McCaffrey could be placed on injured reserve, which would rule him out for four games, including its Week 4 matchup against New England.