Dennis Allen announced New Orleans Saints defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon tore his Achilles during the offseason, head coach Dennis Allen said Tuesday. Kpassagnon isn’t one of the biggest names on the Saints defensive line, but his absence will be noticed if New Orleans doesn’t get more from their young players.
Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson and Chase Young are expected to lead the charge off the edge. There are question marks there but contributions from young draft picks like Isaiah Foskey and Payton Turner would help complete the rotation at defensive end. The Saints will want to go four-deep as they have before. That isn’t possible without someone stepping up in Kpassagnon’s place.
Kpassagnon registered the third-most pressures on the team in 2023, and tied for the fourth-most sacks. Though he may not miss the entire season, losing one of your most productive pass rushers is a tough blow. It’s even more impactful when banking on the struggling pass rush to improve this season.
It’s unclear how much time Kpassagnon miss and unknown how long he’ll need to ramp up upon his return. During that time frame, either Turner or Isaiah Foskey (or both) must step up. Both players were hampered by injury last year, the last three years in Turner’s case. Health concerns aside, at least one of those two needs to be an impactful player in at least a rotational role. The Saints may feel compelled to sign a free agent but getting more production out of one of them would be a better development in this story.
