The Washington Commanders dealt away former No. 2 pick Chase Young to the San Francisco 49ers ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
At the time of the trade, the 24-year-old Young had racked up five sacks for Washington and was seemingly fully recovered from the torn ACL he suffered back in 2021. Even as an impending free agent, it was a surprise that Washington moved the edge rusher for a mere late third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
We have more details on the process that led to Washington moving on from the youngster. Apparently, Young had worn out his welcome with the Commanders.
“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.
There are a couple different ways to go about viewing this. Perhaps, Washington is leaking this information to help it look better after getting so little for the former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
After all, it’s not the only leak that came from the organization following the aforementioned trade. “The team views the trade of Young as a potential addition by subtraction,” Commanders source to Ben Standig of The Athletic.
It does seem a bit coordinated.
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On the other hand, Young’s on-field performance had not lived up to the billing as the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. After recording 7.5 sacks as a rookie, Young tallied 1.5 sacks in 12 games between 2021 and 2022. Obviously, he suffered a torn ACL that first season. But the production was not there leading up to the 2023 campaign.
Washington’s new brass, led by the Josh Harris ownership group, is looking to change up the culture for the Commanders. Moving off both Young and fellow edge rushre Montez Sweat could be a continuation of that.
Though, the haul it received fom San Francisco for Young will be under a microscope. That will be magnified should the talented guy end up starring with former Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa in Northern California.
Monday’s leaks could simply be damage control at its finest.