The New England Patriots made their long-awaited return to the postseason on Sunday night, as they faced off against the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round. The last time the Pats were in the playoffs was in 2021, when Bill Belichick and Mac Jones were roaming the sidelines.
However, this is a different Patriots’ squad led by head coach Mike Vrabel, and the Pats showed that on the national stage, defeating the Chargers, 16-3, thanks to their defense. New England sacked Justin Herbert six times, with K’Lavon Chaisson doing most of the damage against the beleaguered Los Angeles offensive line.
The veteran pass rusher, who has been a revelation in his first season in New England, passed his first major test of the postseason. Chaisson racked up three quarterback hits, two sacks, and two tackles for loss.
New England fans couldn’t ask for anything more from Chaisson, who is setting himself up for a major payday this offseason. However, the question is, will it come from New England, or will another team take the risk on the former first-round pick?
Patriots Must Proceed with Caution Regarding Chaisson’s Free Agency
If you asked Patriots fans, in a perfect world, they would love for the team to re-sign Chaisson at the right price.
According to OverTheCap.com, New England is projected to have $46 million in cap space and $41 million in effective cap space this offseason, which is a good amount with six unrestricted free agents.
When looking at the other pending UFAs for the Patriots, none of those guys should break the bank. The Patriots handed out the big bags last year to Milton Williams and Harold Landry III, and those moves paid off.
Would they do it again for Chaisson? Yes. It's not exactly easy to replace 23 pressures, 18 QB hits, 10 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. But with other teams needing pass rushers with more cap space available than the Patriots, they could up the ante on New England’s front office.
And if that happens, the Patriots might be better off trying to work a trade for Las Vegas Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby, or taking a flier on another player in the same vein as Chaisson. ‘
The free-agent EDGE rusher class has some names worth paying attention to, such as Trey Hendrickson, Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Haason Reddick. However, the Patriots will likely go in a different direction, such as Boye Mafe, Kingsley Enagbare, or Odafe Oweh, for example.
Nonetheless, if Chaisson has another big game in the postseason, it will only make things tougher for the Patriots, who will have to decide if the defender has truly evolved as a player or is a famed one-hit wonder.