After Eight Seasons, James White Retires From The NFL

For those that have been following American Football in any capacity, the name James White will be incredibly familiar to you. He scored the winning touchdown during Super Bowl LI to cement himself not only in the history of the New England Patriots but in the NFL as a whole.  

The news has just broken that White will be retiring with immediate effect after a tweet was shared expressing gratitude towards the New England Patriots. Attached was a heartfelt message to the staff within the team, alongside his family, friends, teammates, and agency. 

Since revealing his retirement, many NFL stars have spoken out about the talent, skill, and determination that James applied to every aspect of his playing career. Tom Brady, considered the best American football player of all time, said that James had a ‘perfect’ career. He also called his former teammate a ‘Football player through and through’.  

Of course, other people have spoken highly about White after the news of him retiring had surfaced. This includes the likes of Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick, the general manager of the New England team. 

Since starting his professional career in 2014, James White has only ever played for one team within the NFL, the New England Patriots. A running back that had a huge impact on the team, White filled his role in a way that nobody else could. Appropriately, he received the nickname ‘Sweet Feet’ due to his productive forward runs. Some of the highlights of James’ career are listed below.  

White was in the winning squad for 3 Super Bowls in 2015, 2017, and 2019. At present, the New England Patriots have 6 Super Bowl wins, meaning that James White contributed to half of their total major wins. He is best known for the heroic play he made during Super Bowl LI, scoring the winner in overtime. 

Filling the captaincy role was a huge honour for White, which he held onto for four seasons. With James being so well respected by his teammates, becoming the captain was a strategic move that clearly benefited the team as a whole. 

Nowadays, you can’t touch on the success of any NFL player without mentioning their stats, even briefly. White had 381 receptions for 3,278 receiving yards. He also had 25 receiving touchdowns over the course of his career. He rushed 319 times for a total of 1,278 yards and finally, had 11 touchdowns to his name.

Now, the only real question that remains is how the New England Patriots will perform without White as their running back. The team themselves came out with a speech dedicated to James, which included a brief note, talking about how his output would be hard to replicate.  

Two potential players to fill this role include Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson. However, the Patriots are still considering a potential trade for Harris, according to sources. This news could see these deals be scrapped, with the Patriots needing a reliable running back for the rest of the season.