Impressive performance by Patriots defender prompts NFL testing after win

Heading into the season opener on Sunday, the Patriots were not expected to do much of anything against an AFC powerhouse like the Bengals, who are actively chasing a Super Bowl after their last appearance fell short a few years ago.

Among the various concerns from the roster's impending effort was the state of the pass rush, especially without Christian Barmore and Matthew Judon in the lineup. While Joshua Uche had a solid performance during the 2022 season, racking up a career-high 11.5 sacks, he has been a non-factor since, putting a lot of pressure on his teammates to help fill the void.

The assumption has been that second year defensive end Keion White would be the one to step up and show his dominance within a stout defense, and after an impressive preseason showing, that's exactly what he did in Week 1 against the Bengals.

White was wreaking havoc on quarterback Joe Burrow all game long, recording four combined tackles with two for a loss, three quarterback hits, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.

It was a beyond impressive day for the defender who had a forgettable rookie season in 2023, so much so that his performance caught the attention of the NFL, prompting them to request a drug test from White on Monday morning.

Keion White was not enthused by the NFL's "random drug test" on Monday morning

In classic NFL form, the league sent a notice to White to report for a drug test after his standout performance at Paycor Stadium on Sunday, to which the defensive end shared on his Instagram about getting got on his day off.

For a league that claims these tests are entirely random and unbiased, far too often do players get hit with a request after a productive game, seemingly proving it's definitely not random.

Although it's probably annoying to deal with such a thing nearly right after getting off the plane, it proves White had a great performance which is hard to complain about.

Hopefully, he can keep it up for the rest of the season and further prove he is the future of the team's defense and can be the perfect pass rusher the Patriots have needed, even more so now that Judon is gone.

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