Vincent Frank
It was a week ago on Tuesday that former No. 2 pick Chase Young was traded from the Washington Commanders to the San Francisco 49ers.
The trade wasn’t all-too surprising given Young’s status as an impending free agent and a perceived rift with the organization.
Young gave his intro press conference with the 49ers in Santa Clara on Monday. He apparently took time in the Q&A with reporters to provide a parting shot at the Commanders’ organization.
“Just stepping in here for today. Got in here last week. Just the culture. The vibe. It’s a lot different,” Young told the media in Santa Clara. “I definitely know I am in the building with winners.”
The vibe is different? The culture is different? He’s in the “building with winners.” It’s hard not to look at this as a direct shot at Ron Rivera and the Commanders.
That’s especially true after leaks from the Commanders organization following last week’s trade didn’t paint the former Ohio State star in the best of lights.
“Young, according to several Commanders coaches and other organizational sources, was viewed as an undisciplined player who developed bad habits such as deviating from assignments in an effort to make splash plays,” Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle on Chase Young.
Young is going from a Washington team that was 3-5 at the time of the trade to a first-place 49ers squad with Super Bowl expectations. It makes sense that there would be a different vibe in Northern California. But he had to know what he was doing in making those comments.
Related: Chase Young and 2023 NFL sack leaders
Chase Young stats (2023): 15 tackles, 9 QB hits, 6 tackles for loss, 5 sacks
Young, 24, earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors after Washington made him the No. 2 overall pick back in 2020. He ended up suffering a torn ACL during the 2021 season, which impacted the EDGE rusher’s performance last year.
Thus far this season, it seems as if he’s returned to pre-injury form. Young now joins his former teammate with the Buckeyes, Nick Bosa, in an attempt to up his value in NFL free agency this coming March.
But it seems that the hard feelings that came with his tenure in Washington are not a thing of the past. The two sides should just call it a day and move on. There is no more need for this drama.
