It’s such a shame that the New Orleans Saints are going to be without Tanoh Kpassagnon while he recovers from an offseason Achilles injury — the big defensive end has been one of their more productive free agent finds in recent years. Kpassagnon’s main goal this year is obviously getting healthy, but there’s a chance he could return to the field before the season ends in January.
Before we get to that, though, let’s get to know him a little better:
- Name (Age): Tanoh Kpassagnon (29)
- Position: Defensive end
- Height, weight: 6-foot-7, 289 pounds
- Relative Athletic Score: 7.38
- 2024 salary cap hit: $3,303,000
- College: Villanova
- Drafted: Second round in 2017 (Kansas City Chiefs)
- NFL experience: 8 seasons
Kpassagnon has turned into a great value signing for the Saints. After initially playing out a two-year, $4.5 million deal in 2021 he signed an extension valued at $5 million over two years in 2023. He’s coming off a career-high 34 quarterback pressures last season, but as we said earlier, he’s going to miss some time recovering from that torn Achilles tendon. He’ll be a free agent again in 2025.
So how long will he be on the mend? Recovery times vary, but a good example is Kpassagnon’s former teammate Kwon Alexander. The former Saints linebacker returned to the field in nine months after rupturing his Achilles, so if Kpassagnon can match his pace there’s an outside chance he could return in January, possibly in time for Week 18’s regular season finale. But Alexander was noted as one of the quicker recoveries we’ve seen in recent years, so fans probably shouldn’t expect Kpassagnon to suit up this season. If he beats those expectations, well; that would be fantastic.
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