Despite finishing the season strongly, the New England Patriots’ pass rush had its ups and downs throughout the 2025 campaign. It wasn’t due to K’Lavon Chaisson’s efforts, though: the first-year Patriot proved himself a disruptive player who finished the year setting multiple career marks and leading the team in several statistical categories.
Needless to say, Chaisson has positioned himself well with free agency coming up. What can be expected, though? Let’s assess his situation.
Hard facts
Name: K’Lavon Chaisson
Position: Defensive edge/Outside linebacker
Jersey number: 44
Opening day age: 27 (7/25/1999)
Measurements: 6’3”, 255 lbs, 32 1/4” arm length, 9 7/8” hand size, N/A Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: Jacksonville Jaguars (2020-23), Carolina Panthers (2024), Las Vegas Raiders (2024), New England Patriots (2025-) | College: LSU (2017-19)
A five-star recruit out of North Shore High School in Galena Park, TX, Chaisson drew considerable interest on the college scouting trail. He eventually decided to join LSU over offers from Texas, Oklahoma and Stanford, among others, and went on to spend three seasons in Baton Rouge.
During that time, he saw action in 26 games with 17 starts and registered a combined 92 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. Earning All-SEC recognition in both of his healthy seasons as a Tiger (first team in 2019; freshman in 2017), Chaisson opted to forgo his final two seasons of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft in 2020. A highly-regarded edge option, he eventually heard his name called 20th overall in the first round.
Chaisson spent the entirety of his rookie contract with the Jaguars, but failed to live up to his draft status. Playing in 59 combined regular season and playoff games, he notched just five total sacks and later saw the fifth-year option in his deal declined. He ended up leaving Jacksonville as a free agent in 2024, but lasted only five months with his new team, the Panthers.
Chaisson later joined the Raiders on a one-year pact and promptly managed to double his career total in sacks (from 5 to 10). His performance in Las Vegas set the stage to him moving to New England in free agency, and he went on to build on his 2024 performance by playing the best football of his career in 2025.
2025 review
Stats: 20 games (12 starts) | 833 defensive snaps (64.9%), 129 special teams snaps (23.5%) | 43 tackles, 19 missed tackles (30.6%), 14 TFLs, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery (1 TD) | 73 quarterback pressures (10.5 sacks, 18 hits, 44 hurries) | 3 targets, 1 catch surrendered (33.3%), 6 yards, 1 PBU | 1 missed special teams tackle | 7 penalties (incl. 2 declined)
Season recap: Signing a one-year, $3 million deal in free agency, Chaisson joined the Patriots as a projected rotational piece in a defensive edge group also featuring Harold Landry, Keion White and Anfernee Jennings. He initially started out as the next man up behind starters Landry and White, but by mid-August had overtaken the latter on the depth chart: while White’s transition to a new role did not go as smoothly as planned, Chaisson showed some real flashes and eventually entered the regular season as a top option on the edge.
He kept that role throughout the year and finished first on the Patriots in sacks (10.5), pressures (73), tackles for loss (14) and forced fumbles (3). His disruptive potential was on display regularly, even though he had a six-game dry spell in November and December without a sack.
When the playoffs came around, however, Chaisson brought his A-game to finish with three quarterback takedowns and 20 total pressures in four games.
His 2025 highlights did not end there. The former first-round draft pick also scored his first career touchdown when he scooped up a loose ball against the Titans in Week 7 and returned it 4 yards for a score.
Chaisson endeared himself to the Patriots’ coaching staff not just because of his playmaking potential on defense, but also his willingness to appear on special teams. A mainstay on the punt coverage team especially early in the season, he ended with 129 snaps in the game’s third phase — the second most of his career, and a significant uptick compared to the 16 he played with the Raiders in 2024.
But while 2025 was another step in the right direction for Chaisson, it wasn’t all roses and sunshine either. He had some serious issues as a run defender and in the tackling department, and his seven penalties were tied for third most on the team.
All in all, however, the 2025 season was a successful one for Chaisson. He showed that his one-year stint in Las Vegas was not a fluke, and that he can be a disruptive player on the defensive edge.
Free agency preview
Free agency status: Unrestricted free agent (UFA)
What is his contract history? Entering the league as a first-round draft pick in 2020, Chaisson received a fully-guaranteed rookie contract worth $13.3 million over four years. Since then, however, he mostly played on modest deals: he signed a one-year, $2.5 million pact with the Panthers and started his Raiders career on a practice squad deal before putting his signature under a one-year, $1.13 million deal. New England ended up giving him $3 million last offseason, a contract he actually managed to outperform by earning an extra $2 million through playing time and sack incentives. Overall, his total career earnings have been calculated by the Over the Cap at $19.8 million.
Which teams might be in the running? There is no shortage of teams needing help on the edge this offseason, including the Patriots. Elsewhere in the league, the Bills, Eagles, Cowboys, Commanders, 49ers and Buccaneers also are currently light in that area and might be looking at a player like Chaisson to bolster their depth chart and improve their defensive disruptiveness.
Why should he be expected back? Besides Chaisson himself claiming that he would want to return, the Patriots also have the means and the motivation to strike a deal. Frankly, they need all the good edge players they can get. While he is probably best suited to play more of a specialized role compared to how he was used in 2025, the 26-year-old still has shown his value to the team. He is a natural pass rusher who plays with a high motor and has shown a knack for getting to the quarterback and knocking the ball free. Sure, he has areas to work on, but he brings a solid foundation to build on in a second season within the same system.
Why should he be expected to leave? New England is in a solid position when it comes to available resources, but they will still try to stay reasonable when it comes to re-signing Chaisson. If he prices himself out of their comfort zone, they likely will let him leave in hopes of possibly recouping a compensatory pick or getting similar production out of other players at a lower cost — or take a big swing on a higher-upside option.
What is his projected free agency outcome? Chaisson is arguably the Patriots’ highest-profile free agent, but we project that he will return to the team when all is said and done. Looking at his age, production and career progression, we can see a deal similar to the three-year, $51.1 million pact Bryce Huff signed with the Eagles back in 2024. While an annual average of around $17 million is a lot, the market plus a growing salary cap means that it is not entirely unreasonable either for a player who performed on a solid level at a premium position.
Now it’s your turn to play GM: What would you do with K’Lavon Chaisson? Give him a deal similar to the one outlined above? Or simply let him go and hope to replace him either with another player or in the aggregate? Please head down to the comment section to share your plan.