The 2025 NFL regular season is over, and unfortunately, the New England Patriots won't become the first-ever team to win seven Super Bowl championships. The end of the season means that it's time to officially turn the page to the offseason, and the Patriots have some tough decisions to make this spring.
One key player who is set to be a free agent this offseason is K'Lavon Chaisson, who joined the Patriots on a bargain deal worth just $3 million and had a crazy year in New England. The 20th overall pick in the 2020 draft spent four years in Jacksonville before signing with the Raiders for a year and then the Patriots. His one year in New England was a good one, as he tallied 7.5 sacks and 18 QB hits during the regular season.
Unfortunately for Pats fans, Chaisson could very well be one-and-done in New England. Now, don't get it twisted, the Patriots have the cap space to bring Chaisson back if they want to, but his price tag has skyrocketed after the year he had, and no one would blame him if he wanted to chase the bag.
Spotrac currently projects Chaisson to receive a three-year deal worth roughly $26 million and an annual salary of $9 million. Doable, but the Patriots could instead opt to find his replacement in the draft because that player would be cheaper and New England could spend that money elsewhere (especially once Drake Maye is eligible for an extension a year from now).
K'Lavon Chaisson might be done with the Patriots after just one year
The Patriot Way, as we all became accustomed to during the Belichick-Brady era, usually led to the Pats letting guys like Chaisson sign a hefty contract elsewhere. Maybe this era of the Patriots won't operate in the same manner, but if they do, it feels like Chaisson would be someone they'd be willing to let walk.
After all, it was one good year for the former first-round pick, who flamed out in Jacksonville and finally figured it out with his third team. Who's to say that Chaisson will replicate that performance after he gets the bag?
It's a risk the Patriots will need to weigh this offseason. Fans would love to have the linebacker back in a Patriots uniform if he wants to come back, but what will he decide to do? Does he want to return and play for a team where he had a career year? Or does he want to go to the highest bidder? We'll have to see how things play out for Chaisson this spring.