The Las Vegas Raiders are surely regretting some of their offseason decisions right now, as they sit at just 2-5 during the 2025 NFL season. Especially on the heels of a 31-0 defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs, the new regime is likely entering the bye week wondering where they went wrong.
Trading for quarterback Geno Smith has not worked out, which is well-documented. But bargain shopping for linebackers like Elandon Roberts and Devin White to replace Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo has also proven disastrous for the Raiders' defense.
Las Vegas also revamped its cornerback room and made some changes to the depth of its defensive line, the latter of which really flew under the radar. But through seven weeks of this campaign, one key departure continues to embarrass Pete Carroll and Co. for not re-signing him.
K'Lavon Chaisson embarrasses Raiders with Defensive Player of the Week honor
During free agency, the Raiders let defensive end K'Lavon Chaisson walk and sign a one-year, $3 million deal with the New England Patriots. Las Vegas opted instead to re-sign Malcolm Koonce, coming off an ACL tear, to a one-year, $12 million deal, and they banked on Tyree Wilson developing.
While Koonce and Wilson have both struggled out of the gates for the Raiders this season, Chaisson is thriving under Mike Vrabel for the Patriots. He made an instant impact for New England in Week 1 against his old team, and he's parlayed that into an incredibly successful start to the season.
On Wednesday, after a monstrous showing against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7, Chaisson was named the AFC's Defensive Player of the Week.
"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," NFL.com's Grant Gordon wrote. "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."
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Chaisson recorded a career-high 5.0 sacks in Las Vegas last season, but still, the new leadership tandem decided that he was not worth the $3 million price tag. The six-year veteran has wasted no time making the Raiders look like fools for letting him leave.
To make matters worse, Chaisson's 4.5 sacks are more than Wilson and Koonce's combined 3.0. Plus, Chaisson has eight quarterback and five tackles for loss this season, and Wilson and Koonce have combined for six quarterback hits and six tackles for loss.
Not only is Chaisson out-producing the Raiders' edge rusher duo that is supposed to supplement Maxx Crosby, but he is only taking up one roster spot and doing it at a fraction of the cost. His winning the Defensive Player of the Week is just the icing on the cake in terms of him proving Las Vegas wrong.