"The Washington Commanders went into the offseason with a clear and glaring need on the edge. And the team didn't play around about addressing it. Last year with the New England Patriots, edge-rusher K'Lavon Chaisson finally looked the part of a legitimate pass rusher, and the Commanders recognized that value."
"Mike Vrabel and his personnel team should have re-signed Chaisson. The other pass rusher, Harold Landry III, is a pretty good player when he's on the field. Yet he had injury issues in 2025, which hurt the Patriots' pass rush. Even with him, they were outsacked 6-1 in the Super Bowl."
The New England Patriots entered the 2026 offseason needing to strengthen their offensive line and pass rush. K'Lavon Chaisson, their leading sack producer with 10.5 sacks including playoffs, departed in free agency and signed a one-year deal with the Commanders for $11M, widely considered a major free agency steal. The Patriots instead signed Dre'Mont Jones from the Titans, but his defensive end profile differs from Chaisson's linebacker-style edge rusher role that coach Mike Vrabel prefers. Chaisson was a productive, cost-effective player already familiar with Vrabel's system. The Patriots' failure to retain him mirrors mistakes from the Belichick era, particularly given their pass rush struggles, including being outsacked 6-1 in the Super Bowl.
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