The New England Patriots made a deadline deal with the San Francisco 49ers in 2025, sending Keion White to the West Coast. It was one of two moves that saw the Patriots move on from former starters alongside safety Kyle Dugger, who was traded to the Steelers.
White played a bunch of snaps under the old defensive scheme from Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo and showed. some serious promise, but didn’t fit the mold Mike Vrabel was looking for after transferring to the edge in 2025.
Knowing all that, how did the Patriots do in the trade? Let’s take a look.
Even though White had been one of the Patriots’ most disruptive defenders in 2023 and 2024, he fell out of favor under Mike Vrabel and his staff in 2025. When he was traded, he yielded little more than a sixth-round selection.
Patriots receive: 2026 sixth-round pick (No. 198)
The Patriots eventually decided to repurpose the selection in a draft day trade with the Vikings.
Pick 198 took quite a journey. It was originally Minnesota’s pick and the Vikings traded it in 2024 for Cam Akers. The Texans traded it back to Minnesota for guard Ed Ingram. It was sent to San Francisco as part of the Jordan Mason trade. San Francisco then traded it to New England for Keion White.
During the 2026 NFL Draft, the Patriots traded it for pick 234 sending it back to Minnesota. The Vikings also gave up a sixth-round pick in 2027. Their preliminary haul from the Keion White trade therefore looks as follows:
It remains to be seen where that 2027 pick ends up landing, but it could come fairly early in the round. At the moment, the Vikings hold the 10th worst Super Bowl odds for this comingsesaon.
White was arguably San Francisco’s most disruptive pass rusher last year, at least on the interior after coming in during the trade deadline. He was a versatile piece, being used both on the edge and the inside, and had 24 pressures in 11 games, ranking third overall on the team.
White’s 12.5% pass rush win rate was third among defensive linemen behind Yetur Gross-Matos and Bryce Huff, and he also had more than one year of team control.
He has a cap hit of just $1.8 million for the upcoming year, and should fit in better in more of a rotational role for the 49ers this season. Currently, they have Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, and White as the team’s top edge rushers for 2026.