Christian Gonzalez and Keion White arrived in New England as part of the same draft class, joining the Patriots as their first and second picks in 2023. But while both looked like potential long-term cornerstones for the organization up until last season, their paths started to diverge in 2025.
Despite dealing with a nagging hamstring injury over the summer, Gonzalez remained the Patriots’ undisputed No. 1 cornerback. White, on the other hand, was asked to adapt to a different role in the team’s new defensive scheme and eventually lost his starting position to offseason signing K’Lavon Chaisson. On Tuesday, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers as part of a late-round draft pick exchange.
White was not the only former starter to be let go. Kyle Dugger, the longest-tenured Patriot and a former team captain, was also shipped away; he was sent to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a similarly-structured move.
Neither departure came as too big a shock to those inside the Patriots locker room, but they were still felt particularly by players such as Gonzalez.
“I mean, it hurt,” the All-Pro cornerback said on Wednesday. “Those are two of two of my closest friends I talk to a lot. But it’s a business at the end of the day. Happy for them, they get to go get a new fresh start. Here, we’re focused on the Falcons and getting ready for them.”
Gonzalez’s statement summed up the the feelings inside Gillette Stadium.
Sad to see Dugger and White go, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Trust in the team’s decision makers and on to the next game.
“I try not to pay too much attention. I got to farm my own land,” added wide receiver Stefon Diggs. “Obviously, guys that you build a relationship as players, hate to see them go. But you wish them the best.”
For the Patriots under Mike Vrabel, moves like Tuesday’s are nothing out of the ordinary. Over the offseason, the team already parted ways with several longtime cornerstones either through release (David Andrews, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Joe Cardona, Jabrill Peppers) or by opting against re-signing them (Jonathan Jones, Deatrich Wise Jr.).
Dugger is the latest member of that club, with the less experienced White joining him on the outs after also falling out of favor with the new coaching staff. And thus, the turnover at One Patriot Place continues.
For quarterback Drake Maye, it’s all about believing in the process.
“I think just trusting the big picture and what they’re doing in the front office, the coaching staff,” he explained.
“As a leader on this team, trust who they have in that locker room and create a bond with those guys. I think those guys are seeing and starting to gel together. So, you hate to see guys that you get to know leave, but at the same time, whoever’s in the locker room ready to go on Sundays is who we’re worried about.”
This coming Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, that group is going to look different. While neither Dugger nor White had kept their former starting roles, both were valuable rotational pieces who had played 39% and 26% of defensive snaps, respectively, over the first eight weeks of the season.
How the Patriots will replace them remains to be seen. Belief that Vrabel and company will push the right buttons — as they have in the past or else the team would not be 6-2 — is wide-spread in the locker room, though, as Stefon Diggs pointed out.
“We all trust that our coaches and everybody in charge is going to do everything in the best interest of the team.”
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