FEBRUARY 25: Kpassagnon’s deal is now official, per a tweet from his agent; Aaron Wilson of KPRC adds that his contract is two years in length, and has a maximum value of almost $6MM (Twitter link). He will continue his time in New Orleans, and quite possibly be in line for an increase in playing time depending on how many other free agents the Saints are able to retain. The team has a long way to go to achieve cap compliance, and keeping Kpassagnon on the books for the short-term future will eat into their limited funds, albeit while retaining a useful member of their defense.
FEBRUARY 24: As the Saints continue another layered journey toward cap compliance, they are planning to keep one of their impending free agents in the fold. They are closing in on a deal with Tanoh Kpassagnon, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
A seventh-year edge rusher, Kpassagnon has spent the past two seasons in New Orleans. The former Kansas City second-round pick is nearing a multiyear pact, per Pelissero. This move would keep one of the Saints’ rotational pass rushers in the fold.
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Void years are attached to Kpassagnon’s current Saints contract. If no deal is reached by the start of the new league year, $1.99MM in dead money would hit the Saints’ books. While that is a modest figure, the Saints are still more than $30MM over the cap. Kpassagnon, 28, played out a two-year, $4.5MM contract this past season.
Although the Villanova product has not become a regular starter, multiple teams have used him as a complementary edge presence. The 6-foot-7 defensive end has registered six sacks during his Saints tenure, one that has included 10 starts. Kpassagnon has added 14 quarterback hits during this span. The Chiefs gave Kpassagnon 24 starts, and he was their edge starter opposite Frank Clark in Super Bowl LIV and Super Bowl LV. Kpassagnon registered two sacks during the 2019 playoffs to help the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title in 50 years. The team went with other options in 2021, however, one of them being former Saints D-end Alex Okafor.
The Saints may well be losing former first-round pick Marcus Davenport this offseason. Davenport played out his rookie contract and is weeks away from free agency. The Saints are pursuing Derek Carr, though it is unknown how much they are willing to pay the street free agent QB. It should not be ruled out the Saints find a way to keep Davenport, they are unlikely to have much in the way of funds to retain the 2018 first-rounder. The team retaining Kpassagnon, in that case, stands to help its D-end situation at a fraction of that cost.