Well before the 2024 season, the Saints’ front seven has been dealt a blow. When speaking to media at OTAs on Tuesday, head coach Dennis Allen said defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon suffered an offseason Achilles tear. 
Allen added Kpassagnon will miss at least the start of the coming campaign as a result of the injury. He did, however, leave open the possibility of a return at some point in 2024. The 29-year-old has spent the past three seasons in New Orleans, logging 10 starts in 40 games.
During that span, he has maintained a steady rotational role along the edge. Kpassagnon – who served as a full-time starter in 2020, the final season of his Chiefs tenure – has posted 4.0, 2.0 and 3.5 sacks during his Saints campaigns. He was in line to continue as a key depth contributor in 2024, but this injury will obviously delay his debut or keep him off the field altogether. Considering the Villanova product is a pending free agent, the timing of the Achilles tear is particularly problematic.
New Orleans ranked just 28th in the league in sacks last season, one of the reasons the team made a notable (albeit one-year) investment in Chase Young during free agency. The former Defensive Rookie of the Year is sidelined as he continues to recover from offseason neck surgery. Young is still on track to take part in training camp, though, something which will not be true of Kpassagnon. Cameron Jordan, meanwhile, is rehabbing from ankle surgery, and he is aiming to be available for the end of OTAs.
The Saints also have the likes of Carl Granderson (who led the team in sacks in 2023), along with 2021 first-rounder Payton Turner and 2023 second-rounder Isaiah Foskey in place along the edge. They will be counted on to help New Orleans try and take a step forward in terms of sack production in Kpassagnon’s absence. It will be interesting to see if the latter manages to return in time to see game action in 2024, or if his injury will linger through the campaign and hinder his free agent value.