From practice squad to playoff star, edge rusher has remarkable turnaround with Patriots

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From practice squad to playoff star, edge rusher has remarkable turnaround with Patriots

Mark Daniels · MassLive

Wed, Jan 21, 2026 ·

3 min read

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FOXBOROUGH – K'Lavon Chaisson feels the love.

Playing in his first season in New England , the veteran edge rusher has been one of the best defensive players on the Patriots during this playoff run. In the Patriots ' first two playoff games, Chaisson has three sacks, seven quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup.

The 26-year-old is having the best season of his NFL career and is about to play in his first conference championship when the Patriots take on the Denver Broncos on Sunday. As special as this season has been for the former first-round pick, Chaisson said that Patriots fans have only added to it.

"It's phenomenal. I'll never take it for granted. I've never played in (a conference championship) before, and I won't act like it's smaller than what it is," Chaisson said. "It's huge. It's huge for the city. Any time I'm stepping out around here or in Boston, people are letting us know. I'm happy for that, that they're excited and get a chance to experience this and get this high of a feeling that we're providing. Excited for the opportunity, and I look forward to going out there for the challenge."

Chaisson has had an up-and-down career before signing a 1-year deal with the Patriots this offseason.

Drafted 20th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars , Chaisson started 11 games and made five total sacks in four seasons. In 2024, he signed with the Carolina Panthers but was released at the end of training camp. Chaisson signed with the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad before finishing the season on their active roster. He finished with a career-high five sacks in 15 games.

Chaisson came to the Patriots and started this offseason as a situational pass rusher before beating out Keion White for a starting job opposite of Harold Landry . Chaisson started a career-high 10 games for the Patriots and finished with a career-high 7.5 sacks and 18 quarterback hits.

After the best regular season of his NFL career, Chaisson has been vital to the Patriots' success this postseason. He finished with two sacks, three quarterback hits, and a forced fumble in the team's wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers . Last week, he added a sack and four quarterback hits in the team's divisional round win over the Houston Texans .

Chaisson said he gives all the credit to his teammates.

"I think we're doing a great job as a defense in general," Chaisson said. "Continuing to communicate and all play on the same page, and that all shows. I think everyone is showing out and playing great ball right now from the front end to the back end. I think the biggest thing that's been happening is the coverage has been phenomenal. "

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