The Las Vegas Raiders opened the 2024 NFL season with a loss to their divisional rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite hope the team could start off strong, they fell to their rivals by a final score of 22-10.
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One of the glaring issues the team faced was its inability to stop the run, which has been affected due to injuries to defensive ends Tyree Wilson and Malcolm Koonce. Losing rotational pieces to injury has placed the Raiders in a tough spot, but they have addressed the issue by bringing in a former first-round pick linebacker.
Jordan Schultz reported the Raiders are set to sign former first-round pick K’Lavon Chaisson. Chaisson will now serve as a much-needed depth piece to ensure the Raiders have a pass rush presence behind Maxx Crosby and Janarius Robinson.
Chaisson most recently played on the Carolina Panthers practice squad, to which he was signed March 16, only to be released by the team on Sep. 3.
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Chaisson spent the majority of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Chaisson was initially drafted by the Jaguars in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was taken No. 20 overall out of LSU.
Chaisson spent the 2017-19 seasons with LSU, where he secured 92 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. His most successful season came in 2019 when he recorded 60 tackles and 6.5 sacks.
Chaisson would then make his way to the Jaguars, where he recorded 19 tackles, one sack, and one pass defended in his rookie season. Chaisson would continue to be a productive linebacker, securing a sack in every one of his first four seasons in the NFL.
While with the Jaguars between the 2020-23 seasons, Chaisson secured 73 tackles, five sacks, and two passes defended.
Chaisson’s 2022 season was cut short when a knee injury saw him placed on IR. He would miss a total of eight games and was reactivated on Dec. 10, 2023.
Chaisson will now join a linebacker corps that includes Divine Deablo, Robert Spillane, and Luke Masterson. The hope is that Chaisson can become part of a run-game stoppage that was obviously lacking in Sunday’s contest.
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The Raiders allowed J.K. Dobbins to amass 135 yards on the ground to add to the total 176 rushing yards the Chargers were able to gain throughout the game. Stopping the run is one of the biggest aspects of any defense, and Dobbins achieving such high yardage is definitely something to worry about.
The Raiders are set to face off against the Baltimore Ravens next, and they will need to be on their toes to stop Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry from being able to break away with long runs on Sunday.