{"id":80664,"date":"2025-08-20T09:07:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T09:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=80664"},"modified":"2025-08-20T09:07:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T09:07:59","slug":"patriots-believe-theyve-struck-gold-with-free-agent-pass-rusher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=80664","title":{"rendered":"Patriots believe they\u2019ve struck \u2018gold\u2019 with free-agent pass rusher"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<nav aria-label=\"articleLabel\">\n<ol id=\"articleLabel__list\">\n<li id=\"articleLabel__listItem\">Patriots<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<ul>\n<li><time datetime=\"2025-08-19175561360000014:26:40\">Published: Aug. 19, 2025, 2:26 p.m.<\/time><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\">\n<article id=\"arc-BENG5FJTQ5AKNI7L52HUIHFMEY\" data-type=\"article\">\n<div>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<div><picture><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/FODXBR2RRFF2DLICFNN6KQSRQE.jpg?auth=c8a75f4a6c2a3bbe6cf13ce90373731fdc2e1f71b3a2fad22c40121c7462a5c1&amp;width=1280&amp;quality=90\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/FODXBR2RRFF2DLICFNN6KQSRQE.jpg?auth=c8a75f4a6c2a3bbe6cf13ce90373731fdc2e1f71b3a2fad22c40121c7462a5c1&amp;width=500&amp;quality=90 500w, https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/FODXBR2RRFF2DLICFNN6KQSRQE.jpg?auth=c8a75f4a6c2a3bbe6cf13ce90373731fdc2e1f71b3a2fad22c40121c7462a5c1&amp;width=800&amp;quality=90 800w, https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/FODXBR2RRFF2DLICFNN6KQSRQE.jpg?auth=c8a75f4a6c2a3bbe6cf13ce90373731fdc2e1f71b3a2fad22c40121c7462a5c1&amp;width=1280&amp;quality=90 1280w\" alt=\"Patriots believe they\u2019ve struck \u2018gold\u2019 with free-agent pass rusher\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Howell (8) passes under pressure from New England Patriots linebacker K&#8217;Lavon Chaisson (44) during the first half of a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo\/Abbie Parr)AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"UPQU7NIETRDH3KEL2QBJUGCO54\">FOXBOROUGH \u2013 One of the biggest developments this summer has been with free-agent pickup K\u2019Lavon Chaisson.<\/p>\n<p id=\"DOHL5UXULZBRHB5OXJ7GB3NOPU\">The veteran pass rusher signed a 1-year deal with the Patriots in free agency. At the start of the offseason, Chaisson looked like a situational pass rusher. Now, he looks like a starter in Mike Vrabel\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n<p id=\"J2POFDLOANGWHARXB2XUKNBCYQ\">This week, Chaisson has been starting opposite Harold Landry in the Patriots\u2019 top defensive unit. That spot had previously been occupied by Keion White. On Tuesday, before practice, outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said Chaisson has been practicing with a chip on his shoulder.<\/p>\n<p id=\"EARTHWMWJNHQZAZWBZ5Q3EEJ5E\">\u201cThe thing about KC is he\u2019s smart. He\u2019s a vet. He\u2019s seen it. Loves the game of football. The way he works, the way he prepares,\u201d Smith said. \u201cHe\u2019s one of these guys that you talk about stuff, and he gets it pretty quick. A lot of these guys you get in free agency on 1-year deals, and they\u2019ve got something to prove. I think he\u2019s got a chip on his shoulder, and he\u2019s got something to prove \u2013 getting a home and being somewhere is a big thing for him. He\u2019s playing well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"NTHYI3B6MZDS3LQCBEBISGEMIE\">A first-round pick by Jacksonville in 2020, Chaisson amassed five sacks in four seasons with the Jaguars. Last season, he started on the practice squad in Las Vegas before finishing the 2024 regular season with five sacks in the final six games.<\/p>\n<p id=\"PEFWLA36YZBE7NNXZGHXPZG7QU\">Smith compared finding Chaisson to when he was in Green Bay and the Packers signed Za\u2019Darius Smith, who was previously a situational pass rusher in Baltimore. With the Packers, Smith made two Pro Bowls and finished with 26 sacks in two seasons while being coached by the Patriots\u2019 current outside linebackers coach.<\/p>\n<p id=\"EKDSBJPDKZA7BOYMY3PSG4F5CQ\">This offseason, when Smith was studying free agents, he said he noticed that Chaisson used more power rush moves with the Raiders than he did in his previous four years in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n<p id=\"FILRBZSMSVBDJMK5D77ZVZTIDQ\">\u201cI like finding those free agent guys \u2013 Za\u2019Darius when he was in Baltimore. Maybe he didn\u2019t play as much,\u201d Smith said. \u201c\u2026 I saw that. I saw the athleticism. I saw how he plays. How physical he is. We get guys to sit \u2013 how violent we play, there\u2019s nothing pretty about pass rush. Nothing pretty about it. Watch Max Crosby. Watch Nick Bosa. Watch Za\u2019Darius, any of these guys. They\u2019re violent human beings. Just building stuff off that. You can put the tape on and see how athletic he is. You can find some gold, some guys like that in free agency that can help.\u201d<\/p>\n<section data-gaid=\":Rdpaq6:\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Patriots veteran assistant compared edge rusher K&#8217;Lavon Chaisson to a Pro Bowl pass rusher he previously coached<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":80668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Patriots believe they\u2019ve struck \u2018gold\u2019 with free-agent pass rusher - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=80664\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patriots believe they\u2019ve struck \u2018gold\u2019 with free-agent pass rusher - 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