New England Patriots
“I think K’Lavon — and those who really know where he’s come from — this is probably the least amount of adversity he’s ever had to come through, personally.”
K’Lavon Chaisson has emerged as a difference-maker on New England’s defense. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
February 5, 2026 | 8:49 AM
9 minutes to read
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jon Kay remembers the first time he saw K’Lavon Chaisson out on the gridiron.
Even as a ninth grader, the dynamic pass-rusher caught the eye of Kay and his coaches at North Shore Senior High School in Houston. Beyond his knack for slipping past offensive linemen with his 0-to-60 acceleration, Chaisson’s ties to the Houston football community made it evident to Kay that the freshman had a bright future ahead of him.
“His dad was a hell of a player down here in the Houston area, and then at Baylor. So we knew of him when he came over,” Kay told Boston.com. “But he certainly passed the eye test, even though he was young.”
It can be easy to paint an athletic edge rusher like Chaisson with a broad brush — with the 26-year-old former first-round pick emerging as a heat-seeking missile on New England’s defense in 2025.
But as Kay was quick to note, there’s a lot more to Chaisson than meets the eye.
The explosive swim moves and thumping hits are easy to glean when looking over his tape. But it’s Chiasson’s inner drive — one that had been tested countless times over in his football journey — that still resonates with his former high-school coach.
It’s a drive that — through countless trials — now has him on the brink of football immortality.
“I think K’Lavon — and those who really know where he’s come from — this is probably the least amount of adversity he’s ever had to come through, personally,” Kay said of Chiasson’s growth from potential first-round bust to game-changing talent. “I don’t think he’s any stranger to understanding how to kind of grab yourself by the bootstraps and get yourself right.”
Upward growth … countered by grief
As imposing as Chiasson was as just a ninth-grader, football wasn’t always in his plans.
He spent his entire sophomore season off the gridiron, choosing instead to pursue basketball on the AAU circuit. It was a venture that didn’t last long
“There were a lot of things I just wanted to find out and just understand — what to do with my time going forward,” Chaisson said. “So I thought, I can be a basketball star for sure, going to hoop.
“And then once you start playing 6-foot-7 guards — I think it was like Kelly Oubre and De’Aaron Fox — I started understanding, like, ‘man, I might not get too far in this.’”
The pivot back to football was to be expected.
After all, football has always been rooted in Chiasson’s family. His father, Kelvin, earned three all-district selections at Smiley High School in Houston as a dynamic linebacker, before going onto the collegiate level at Baylor.
K’Lavon served as a spitting image of his father on the gridiron, tormenting offensive linemen with his quick-twitch burst and high motor. But during K’Lavon’s sophomore season, tragedy struck.
Kelvin Chaisson was shot and killed by his girlfriend in a domestic dispute. He was just 33 years old.
Amid the pain of losing his dad and football mentor, Chaisson found a renewed sense of purpose in following his father’s footsteps.
“I just took a chance to get back on the football field and honor everything that I feel like my family has embraced in the sport,” he said.
His growth was evident under Kay’s watch, especially during his junior season.
Chaisson’s imposing 6-foot-3-inch frame already made him a menace at the high-school level. But it was focus away from the gridiron that routinely gave him the edge against the elite talent found in the Lone Star State.
“You started seeing, even in high school — a focus on diet, a focus on nutrition, a focus on rest and things that a lot of kids his age — they were focused on girls and partying, you know,” Kay noted.
It didn’t take long for Chaisson’s stock to soar back on the football field.
The talented junior played a key role in leading North Shore to a Class 6A Division I state title — earning Defensive MVP honors against Austin Westlake after recording two sacks and forcing a fumble in an eventual overtime win at NRG Stadium.
By his senior year, he was a five-star recruit — eventually committing to LSU under head coach Ed Orgeron.
After starting as a true freshman against SEC competition, Chaisson’s sophomore year in Baton Rouge came to an abrupt end during the first game of the season, with Chaisson tearing his ACL, forcing him to use a medical redshirt.
Despite that sizable setback, Chaisson emerged as a dominant force on a 2019 LSU team that cemented itself as one of the greatest teams in college football history.
Awarded LSU’s No. 18 jersey — given annually to the Tigers player who best displays a selfless attitude and strong leadership qualities — Chaisson showed few signs of rust in his redshirt sophomore campaign.
By the end of the year, he was a national champion, First Team All-SEC honoree, and was poised to go in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Months later, he was selected 20th overall in the 2020 Draft by the Jaguars.
Amid stretches of setbacks and personal tragedies, Chiasson had finally achieved his dream of playing in the NFL.
It quickly turned into a nightmare.
Left rudderless
Despite his pedigree as a first-round pick, Chaisson struggled to put it together in Jacksonville.
Over his first four seasons in the NFL, he only generated 5.0 sacks and 23 tackles for a loss with the Jags — eventually serving as more of a situational pass-rusher in both 2022 and 2023.
Looking for a fresh start elsewhere, he signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2024 in hopes that he could rekindle his game as a devastating pass-rusher.
He never got the opportunity in Charlotte. After a so-so showing during preseason action, Chaisson was cut by the Panthers in early September.
For the first time in years, Chaisson wondered whether or not he’d have a fruitful career in football.
“My injury at LSU, between that and my release at Carolina, those have been probably like the main two,” Chaisson said of his greatest challenges faced on the football field. “I can say that … obviously truly helped me understand my commitment, my love for this game, and how bad I really want it, without knowing what the result was going to be.”
Chaisson found a lifeline out west — signing with the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice squad seven days after getting cut by Carolina. It was the second chance he needed, eventually earning a spot on the Raiders’ 53-man roster.
His baseline numbers (5.0 sacks in 15 games) in Vegas may not leap off the page. But four of those sacks came in his final six games of the 2024 season — showcasing some of the untapped potential still found in his game.
It was the type of finish that caught the eye of the Patriots, who were in the market for an athletic edge rusher with a chip on his shoulder.
When Chaisson finally put pen to paper on a one-year contract in New England, Patriots outside linebackers coach Mike Smith tried to mask his excitement.
“Watching him in free agency, I saw a kid that was very athletic,” Smith told Boston.com. “I saw a kid who plays hard. I saw him make two interceptions on screen plays — so he’s instinctive. And then you gotta sit there and look back like, ‘Okay, what’s going on?’ I see guys that are first-round guys that don’t make it. Sometimes the stars gotta line up just right.”
Chaisson found his North Star in Foxborough.
Finding a home
Initially deemed as a depth option on the edge, Chaisson quickly dispelled the notion that was more of a value pick-up on Vrabel’s revamped defensive unit.
By the end of training camp, he had leapfrogged Keion White and earned a starting role alongside Harold Landry III.
Under Vrabel’s watch, a Patriots roster rife with cast-offs, injury reclamation projects, and former first-round “busts” found avenues to channel those former frustrations into tangible results.
“I think he does a great job with just instilling confidence in each and everybody on the team,” Chaisson said of Vrabel, adding: “He just kind of unlocks the things that we already have within us, man, and we get a chance to show it on the field.”
Chaisson — seemingly set to land on the NFL scrap heap in September 2024 — finally had his breakthrough in 2025.
In 16 regular-season games with New England, he posted a career-high 7.5 sacks to go along with 18 QB hits, 10 tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles.
He’s been even better during New England’s run to Super Bowl LX — recording three sacks, nine QB hits, three tackles for a loss and a forced fumble in playoff wins over the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos.
Only one player in the NFL this postseason has generated more pressures than Chiasson (18).
Chiasson’s incessant motor and athleticism have been evident on a Vrabel-led team that routinely hones in on effort and finish as hallmarks of their bruising approach.
Smith believes Chaisson’s results are drawn from more than just his physical talents.
“My grandpa used to say all the time — ‘If it wasn’t for the weak-minded people in this world, we would never have the opportunity to be successful.’ Going back to KC and watching him – I remember seeing how hard he’d play,” Smith said. “I think that’s missing these days, guys that truly play hard. I mean, it’s unbelievable to say that, right? But play hard and play violent.
“I felt like I watched KC every year in free agency. I used to tell him, when he first got here — I saw some flashes of him just busting people up. I was just like, man, he’s starting to figure that part out. I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about that. But that’s what I want. I want guys that are talented, physical, violent, play hard, and plays like football means something to them. I think that’s what sums up KC.”
A dream fulfilled
A month before a contract offer from the Patriots was handed out, Chaisson was in Mexico as Super Bowl LIX played out between the Eagles and Chiefs.
It remained to be seen where he’d end up in free agency — let alone how much run he’d get with a new club. But Chaisson believed that his time on football’s highest stage was coming.
“I have a video of my notes from two years ago,” Chaisson said Tuesday. “Me and my girl were out of town. We were watching the Super Bowl while we were in Mexico. But I kind of recorded just telling myself, ‘We aren’t supposed to be here. Like, we’re supposed to be at the big one.
“I just knew and understood that I had a bigger calling than where I was at. It was only a matter of time. I just put it all in God’s plan. I knew exactly where I belonged.”
Little has gone according to plan for Chaisson in his journey that has taken him from the basketball courts of Houston to Levi’s Stadium on Sunday night.
But a few days away from the most important game of his life, Chiasson’s road has led him exactly to where he wants to be.
“I think me and Robert Spillane were saying this, like how your life can literally change in one year just like that, man,” Chaisson said. “But it’s just continuously staying focused and staying dedicated and committed to your grind.
“The discipline that you show throughout the journey is everything and more. You’re going to look up one day, and you’re just going to be able to overview everything that you’ve been through, throughout this game. You’ll be proud. And as long as you continuously did what you were supposed to do throughout the journey — man, everything will pan out.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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