The Las Vegas Raiders are reeling at 2-5 in the 2025 NFL season, licking their wounds after a humiliating 31-0 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. As the team heads into their bye week, the new regime under Pete Carroll is left questioning a series of offseason missteps that have left their defense in shambles. While the trade for quarterback Geno Smith has been a well-documented failure, the decision to let defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson walk in free agency is proving to be an even more egregious error.
During the offseason, the Raiders opted not to re-sign Chaisson, who inked a modest one-year, $3 million deal with the New England Patriots. Instead, Las Vegas banked on re-signing Malcolm Koonce, fresh off an ACL injury, to a one-year, $12 million contract and hoped for a breakout from Tyree Wilson. Unfortunately for the Raiders, this gamble has backfired spectacularly. While Koonce and Wilson have struggled to make an impact, Chaisson is thriving under Mike Vrabel’s system in New England.
Chaisson, a 2020 first-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, has been a revelation for the Patriots. His dominance began in Week 1 against his former team and has only grown stronger. In a standout performance against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7, Chaisson earned the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award, further twisting the knife in the Raiders’ side.
NFL.com’s Grant Gordon highlighted Chaisson’s Week 7 heroics: “The 2020 first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars is having a stellar rebirth with the Patriots. Chaisson, who’s nearing his career high with 4.5 sacks already, had a stellar Sunday in New England’s 31-13 thumping of the Tennessee Titans. Chaisson posted three tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, two QB hits, and recovered a fumble for a 4-yard touchdown—the first of his career.”
Chaisson’s 4.5 sacks this season surpass the combined 3.0 sacks from Koonce and Wilson. Additionally, his eight quarterback hits and five tackles for loss dwarf the Raiders’ duo, who have managed just six quarterback hits and six tackles for loss combined. Chaisson is not only outproducing Las Vegas’ edge rushers, who were expected to complement star Maxx Crosby, but he’s doing so at a fraction of the cost and with just one roster spot.
The Raiders’ defensive woes don’t end with Chaisson’s departure. Their bargain-bin approach to replacing linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo with Elandon Roberts and Devin White has been disastrous. The revamped cornerback room and tweaks to the defensive line depth have also failed to deliver, leaving the unit exposed. However, letting Chaisson walk for a mere $3 million after he posted a career-high 5.0 sacks with the Raiders last season stands out as the most glaring miscalculation.
Chaisson’s success in New England is a public humiliation for Pete Carroll and the Raiders’ front office. His Defensive Player of the Week honor is just the latest chapter in a narrative that paints Las Vegas as shortsighted for prioritizing more expensive, underperforming options over a proven, cost-effective talent. As Chaisson continues to shine, the Raiders are left to wonder how different their season might have been had they retained the dynamic edge rusher.
With the bye week offering a moment to reflect, the Raiders must confront the reality that their offseason decisions—particularly letting K’Lavon Chaisson walk—have left them vulnerable and exposed. For now, Chaisson’s success serves as a painful reminder of what could have been.