By admin 
SANTA CLARA – Keion White’s zest for exploration leads to unique paths.
You might have seen his 6-foot-5, 285-pound frame sitting next to you on a BART train or riding a bike in the Fremont foothills.
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You might have spotted him this summer touring Yosemite or living La Dolce Vita at a friend’s wedding in Italy.
And you might have heard he got shot in the ankle at a Super Bowl afterparty in San Francisco. It wasn’t until last Friday that Los Angeles police arrested his suspected assailant, a convicted felon who was moved Monday to a San Francisco jail.
Surely you’ve seen how swiftly White has recovered from that and other health issues to boost the undefeated 49ers’ 5-0 start. Acquired last October in a cast-off trade from the New England Patriots, White is the 49ers’ most productive and versatile defensive lineman this season.
“I feel they really gave me a second opportunity to revitalize my career in this league,” White told this news organization after the 49ers’ 32-29 win Sunday in Seattle.
He leads the 49ers with three sacks this season, and he produced their fifth and final one Sunday as the Seahawks settled for a tying field goal in the fourth quarter.
“Keion has been playing lights out,” left tackle Trent Williams said.
The 49ers’ defensive front, decimated by injuries last month, is on the rise, and not just with White surging in a contract year. Mykel Williams made his season debut Sunday, Nick Bosa could return from a three-game hiatus Monday night against Washington and Romello Height is showing promise, as are fellow rookies Gracen Halton and Jaden Dugger.
White, 27, had four hurries in Sunday’s win, and he has hit the opposing quarterback each of the past four games. In the season-opening win over the Rams in Australia, White recovered a fourth-quarter fumble that Fred Warner forced.
A week before that season debut, White spoke to reporters for the first time since the Super Bowl (which he attended at Levi’s Stadium) and the afterparty shooting that reportedly stemmed from a dispute with rapper Lil Baby at a Mission District nightclub.
“The funny part is I was the calming everyone else down,” White recalled Sept. 1. “I don’t really take a lot of things seriously, so I didn’t know I got shot until like five minutes after I was walking around. So, it was cool.”
His alleged shooter, Gregory Walker, was arrested last Friday morning by Los Angeles Police and was booked Monday night into San Francisco County Jail on multiple firearm charges.
White, with two screws in his ankle to stabilize his talus bone, rehabilitated all offseason near his home in Atlanta, site of the 49ers’ next road game on Oct. 25.
A low-cost yet desperate move at last year’s trade deadline brought him to the 49ers.
A 2023 second-round draft pick by Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots, White had one sack as a rookie, then five in 2024, when Jerod Mayo replaced Belichick. Once Mike Vrabel took over as the Pats’ coach last season, White evolved into a healthy scratch and they dealt him and a seventh-round pick to the 49ers for a sixth-rounder.
“I remember watching him in New England,” Bosa said last Friday. “And when we traded for him, I was, ‘Whoa, I can’t believe they let him go.’ They must have had a lot of guys because he always stood out being able to play all across the line.”
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The Patriots went on to reach the Super Bowl, losing in Santa Clara to the Seahawks.
“He’s 280 (pounds) and he carries it really well,” Bosa added of White. “So, for our scheme it’s perfect: He can dominate the run game and then he’s super athletic so he can rush.”
White’s versatility to slide inside as a third-down pass rusher complements any scheme. The 49ers are paying him just $1.8 million in the final year of his rookie contract.
Asked if this is the hottest start in his four-year career, White referred to the four sacks he produced through two games in 2024, but those came with the Patriots heading for a 4-13 season.
No defensive end has played more snaps than White’s 64% this season as they take a 5-0 record into Monday night’s home game against the Washington Commanders (1-3-1). This is the first time in White’s career he has had the same head coach in consecutive seasons.
“It always feels good to win and just be part of a winning culture,” White said. “Kyle (Shanahan), I have the utmost respect for him, and for Kris” Kocurek, the 49ers’ defensive line coach.
White has embedded himself in his surroundings, including in the locker room where Mykel Williams is his neighbor, while they’re flanked a few over by Bosa and Brock Purdy. White’s impulsive nature extends to his wardrobe, which ranges from high-brow style for games to free T-shirts teammates gift him from their alma maters’ swag bags.
After Sunday’s win in Seattle, White spread credit to his teammates, including first-year players Halton, Dugger and Sebastian Valdez: “Shout out to John Lynch for drafting the really good young guys, and shout out to them for stepping up.”
White stepped into the 49ers’ fray last season as their defense scrambled without Bosa and Warner. White debuted against the New York Giants, and that is when the 49ers lost first-round draft pick Mykel Williams to an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
White had 1 ½ sacks over the final nine games last regular season, then had one in the wild-card playoff win at Philadelphia.
Business is picking up this offseason as White plays out his rookie contract. He shook off an adductor injury in training camp with a dominant cameo in the preseason finale at Las Vegas. Back and hamstring injuries cut into his practice time this season.
He was so “laser-focused” on getting to Sam Darnold on Sunday that he didn’t pretend to know much about cornerback Renardo Green’s two-interception outing.
“I don’t know nothing that goes on behind me. That takes care of itself,” White said. “All I worry about is what happens between the (offensive) tackle and the other tackle.”
Last season’s trade deadline brought White to the 49ers. This season’s deadline is Nov. 10. Another top-end pass rusher could help. White certainly isn’t hurting.
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