Nothing Says 'You've Arrived' Quite Like the NFL 'Randomly' Drug Testing You After a Career Performance

It's hard to overstate just how ginked up Patriots fans are about Keion White. A product of Bill Belichick's last draft, the 2nd rounder out of Georgia Tech established himself as a man who meant serious business from the very moment his selection was announced:

White then walked into his first practice as a rookie looking like a plug-and-play, NFL-ready prospect. And from his first interviews he made it clear he wasn't remotely intimated by the jump he was about to make.

By no means has he disappointed. After getting relatively few of the snaps in a crowded Pats defensive line rotation - both inside and on the edge - he saw his playing time increase as the season went on. In his final 10 games, he had took least half the snaps in eight of them, peaking with an incredible 87% while holding the Rams to 6 points in a December game. And his production went up with the playing time. 

But Sunday at Cincinnati was the best game of White's career.  So far. Playing roughly half his 41 snaps on the outside, he was simply too much for the Bengals O-line to handle:

He finished with 2.5 sacks, 3 QB hits, 3 solo tackles, 4 combined, 2 TFLs and one postgame troll job:

Advertisement

All of which is well and good. But none it means Keion White's moment has arrived. No, we had to wait until the day after the Cincy game to truly appreciate how far his star has risen:

MSN - "The boys got me on my day off," White posted to his Instagram account with a photo of the league's request for a performance enhancing substance test taped to his locker. 

White and his Patriots teammates didn't actually have the day off, as head coach Jerod Mayo said there are no "Victory Mondays" in New England and everyone was back to work Monday morning. Players will have Tuesday off though, which White should be able to enjoy after getting his test out of the way on Monday. 

The NFL "randomly" selecting players to undergo a PED test after a big performance is nothing new. Many of the players considered it a compliment that the league wants to make sure everything is on the up and up after they have a big game.

And so, congratulations are in order. 

I'm not suggesting this is White's first time getting tested. It's just that as far as we know, this is the first time one of his performances pinged the radar of the Piss Patrol. 

And that is really the first step up the Pyramid of Greatness. The peak of which is a yellow jacket and, in rare cases, a statue. That climb doesn't begin with Player of the Week promotions, or Pro Bowl berths or anything of that sort. Those come later. The Coming Out Party for football debutantes, where they get formally announced into NFL society, is when the league hands you a plastic cup and some low level employee stares at you while you fill it.

That is their acknowledgement that you're so good, they have to worry about you. Because you're either a trustee of modern chemistry, or you're supremely talented, hard working, smart and highly motivated. And I know where my money is at when it comes to Keion White. Here's hoping he doesn't have a shy bladder and had no problem producing a stream. Because my guess is he'll have a lot more cups to fill in the weeks, months and years to come.