The New England Patriots found a steal with veteran linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson in free agency.
Since signing with New England on a one-year prove-it contract for $3 million, Chaisson has been the top linebacker throughout the summer, and he’s poised to be the starting outside linebacker in his first season with the Patriots.
K'Lavon Chaisson Poised to Have Career Season with the Patriots
Chaisson has been dominant during training camp, and he was a consistent presence in the backfield and got to the quarterback with ease. At 6’3”, 255 lbs., he plays with the exact violent style that head coach Mike Vrabel wants on his defense coming off the edge.
At 26 years old, Chaisson is right in the prime of his career, but he still hasn’t reached his full potential in the NFL after being selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After Jacksonville didn’t pick up the fifth-year option for Chaisson, he landed on the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad. He was eventually promoted to the active roster and played in 15 games and had four starts.
He ended up finishing last season with 32 tackles (seven for loss), five sacks, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble.
Now with the Patriots, Chaisson is on his third team in his six-year career and is hoping to stay in New England for a while, as he told the media, he likes playing for Vrabel and being on the Patriots.
“It means a lot for sure, I look forward to it. That’s kind of one of my goals is to just be somewhere stable and just be somewhere where the defense is the same and consistent to where I can go out and give the fanbase and the franchise everything I’ve got.”
There’s something about Chaisson’s arrival that is reminiscent of when Vrabel arrived in New England as a free agent in 2001. Vrabel had never started a game before playing on the Patriots, and he totaled 56 tackles and seven sacks in 51 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1997-2000.
Before arriving in New England, Chaisson had started in only 15 games, and totaled 105 tackles and put up 10 sacks in 72 games with the Jaguars and Raiders from 2020-2024.
Chaisson is poised for the largest role of his NFL career with the Patriots, just like it was for Vrabel when he first arrived in 2001.
One last note. Chaisson was teammates last year with Robert Spillane in Las Vegas. He’s not part of the group of players who’ve been coached by Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas, but he does have experience playing alongside Spillane, who’s going to be the captain of the defense.