FOXBOROUGH — K’Lavon Chaisson knows what it’s like to hear his name called in the first round of the NFL Draft. He also knows what it’s like to get cut and not have a contract offer for a 53-man roster.
That’s why he’s not taking this Super Bowl 60 appearance for granted.
At 26 years old, Chaisson has already experienced some of the NFL’s highest highs and lowest lows. So amid a breakout season with the Patriots, the edge rusher is relishing the ride.
“It feels good, for sure. You can’t downplay it or you can’t make it seem smaller than what it is,” Chaisson said. “I think the journey is everything that I’ve appreciated the most about everything that’s going on right now. To be here on this stage right now, it just makes me appreciate everything that I’ve been through much more, for sure.”
After struggling to live up to first-round expectations in Jacksonville, Chaisson wasn’t re-signed, then was cut by the Panthers last summer. He landed on the Raiders practice squad in 2024. The experience offered him a valuable new perspective.
“I think we all can get caught up in what we want out of something, rather than what we learn and what we may experience,” Chaisson said. “Everything that I’ve been through. Everything that I’ve learned throughout my time, it was very fruitful and needed in order to be here today and I appreciate it.”
The Patriots are surely appreciative to have Chaisson in Foxborough, too.
The edge rusher played his way onto Las Vegas’ active roster last season and then earned a one-year, $5 million contract with the Patriots in March. His production has dwarfed that deal in New England.
Chaisson finished the regular season with 7.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 18 quarterback hits, all career highs. This postseason, he’s taken his production to another level.
In three playoff games, Chaisson has 3 sacks, 9 quarterback hits, 3 tackles for a loss and a forced fumble. Per Next Gen Stats, Chaisson’s 14 pressures are the second-most of anybody in the postseason, trailing only Rams Pro Bowler Jared Verse. Asked what’s led to his postseason surge, Chaisson deflected credit to his teammates.
“I think the defense in all, we’ve just been clicking,” he said. “We’ve been all on the same page. I’m going to keep giving credit to the defensive backs, allowing the picture to be muddied up enough to buy us an extra second to get into the backfield. I’m going to give credit to my other linemen to the right or to the left of me, for making these fronts, the battles a lot more easier for sure. See Milton (Williams) handling his business, Christian Barmore handling his business, Elijah Ponder, Anfernee Jennings, whoever it may be.
“With everybody being on this page and everybody on the team being confident in what we can build and what we can be, I think a lot of individual success comes from everybody.”
Given his path to the Patriots, Chaisson isn’t taking any of that success for granted.
