The New England Patriots entered the 2026 offseason with two paramount needs. They had to upgrade their offensive line, which surrendered sacks by the dozen. And, they needed to improve their pass rush.
Their top sack man in 2025 was K'Lavon Chaisson, who notched 10.5, including the playoffs. He headed into free agency this offseason and instead of returning to New England, he signed a one-year deal with the Commanders.
That is already considered one of the biggest free agency steals of the offseason so far.
The Patriots did sign an EDGE, Dre'Mont Jones, from the Titans. et, Jones' profile is more of a defensive end than a stand-up linebacker, which Chaisson is, awhich nd Vrabel seems to prefer. Regardless, Jones is a solid player, but so is Chaisson, and for the $11M one-year deal the Commanders dished out for him, it was a bargain indeed.
Mike Vrabel and his personnel team should have re-signed Chaisson. The other pass rusher, Harold Landry III, is a pretty good player when he's on the field. Yet he had injury issues in 2025, which hurt the Patriots' pass rush. Even with him, they were outsacked 6 - 1 in the Super Bowl, and that made a big difference between winning and getting hammered.
The Patriots dropped the ball by not re-signing K'Lavon Chaisson
Not re-signing a cost-effective player often feels like a mistake Bill Belichick would have made. Chaisson was a known and productive player in Vrabel's system, and he would have cost a reasonable $11M, even if only on a one-year deal.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report likes the Commanders' stealing him from the Patriots, and believes it should be considered one of the biggest steals.
"The Washington Commanders went into the offseason with a clear and glaring need on the edge. And the team didn't play around about addressing it...But that blockbuster of a deal (Odafe Oweh) wasn't a steal. He's not who we are here to discuss.
Last year with the New England Patriots, edge-rusher K'Lavon Chaisson finally looked the part of the first-round pick he was back in 2020, logging a career-high 7.5 sacks with the New England Patriots. At 26, Chaisson is only just now entering his prime...A 10-sack 2026 is a real possibility."
There was nothing at all to say that Vrabel and company couldn't both re-sign Chaisson and sign Jones. In fact, that would have been a notable move, especially in light of Landry's injury situation, and that edge gets dinged up like everyone else. They would also still have had to go into the draft for one or two more players, but you never have enough sack producers on your roster.
The Patriots dropped the ball in not re-signing K'Lavon Chaisson, one of two of their own free agents they should have re-signed and didn't.
Hopefully, Vrabel and personnel will rebound and further bolster both the offensive line and the edge positions. If you can't prevent sacks and produce them, you're not going to win a Super Bowl.