Three Teams That Could Threaten Patriots For K'Lavon Chaisson

In this story:
For K'Lavon Chaisson, his first season with the New England Patriots will certainly help his 2026 payday. The veteran free agent inked a one-year deal worth $3 million last offseason, and after earning another $2 million in incentives, Chaisson is one of the top pass rushers on the market this offseason.
The Patriots would love to keep Chaisson, as he finished the year first on the team in sacks (10.5), pressures (73), tackles for loss (14) and forced fumbles (3). After his career stayed stagnant with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders, coming to New England certainly helped unlock part of Chaisson's game.
With the 26-year-old heading to the open market once again, he has confidence that a new contract can be worked out to extend his stay with the Patriots.
"I feel like it can," Chaisson said about if a new deal can be finalized. "I have true faith in the organization, in the guys upstairs. Just everything that we had going on this year, I trust in the process, for sure."
Should Chaisson not be able to iron out a deal in New England, here's a few teams that may express interest in him.
Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore finished last season with just 30 sacks, the third-lowest mark in the entire NFL. The Ravens also traded away edge rusher Odafe Oweh at the deadline, and pending free agent Kyle Van Noy and Dre'Mont Jones were key pieces for them. Adding Chaisson into new head coach Jesse Minter's defensive scheme could help the Ravens return to the postseason after a year where their defense struggled to sustain success in 2025.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Like the Ravens, the Buccaneers struggled to get production off the edge. They paid Haason Reddick $14 million dollars, just to see him net 2.5 sacks in his first year with the team. David Walker, their fourth-round selection from a year ago, tore his ACL and is working through that recovery, Safe to say, it's truly no mans land for the Buccaneers pass rush on the outside. Does Chaisson take his talents to the NFC South, where head coach Todd Bowles can unlock some of his dropback ability in coverage as well?
San Francisco 49ers
After Nick Bosa went down, the 49ers defensive ends and outside linebackers couldn't replace that hole. Names like Trey Hendrickson and Joey Bosa have been thrown around to sign with the perennial contenders in the NFC, but signing Chaisson could be just the value find they need.

Ethan Hurwitz is a writer for Patriots on SI. He works to find out-of-the-box stories that change the way you look at sports. He’s covered the behind-the-scenes discussions behind Ivy League football, how a stuffed animal helped a softball team’s playoff chances and tracked down a fan who caught a historic hockey stick. Ethan graduated from Quinnipiac University with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in journalism, and oversaw The Quinnipiac Chronicle’s sports coverage for almost three years.
Follow HurwitzSports