Insider Notes Chase Young’s Rocky Tenure With Commanders
Just before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, the Washington Commanders traded defensive end Chase Young to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round draft pick in next year’s draft.
Young should be a nice addition for the Niners, a Super Bowl contender that has lost its last three games and is in need of a jump-start.
He was the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, and although he has 5.0 sacks, nine quarterback hits, and six tackles for loss so far this season, the Commanders had some issues with him.
Per Michael Silver, they were frustrated by his lack of discipline and penchant for trying to make a flashy play instead of remaining within their defensive schemes.
“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…” (Ducks for cover) @sfchronicle https://t.co/nVB0yYSxVA
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) October 31, 2023
As a rookie in 2020, Young had 7.5 sacks, 12 QB hits, and 10 tackles for loss, and that production earned him a spot in the Pro Bowl as well as the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
But since then, he has had injury issues.
He tore his ACL and patellar tendon in Week 10 of the 2021 campaign, and he was forced to miss the rest of that season as well as most of last season.
Washington is currently 3-5 after losing to the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, 38-31, on Sunday, and their playoff hopes seem to be dwindling, as they’re currently one game behind the 4-4 Minnesota Vikings for the seventh and final playoff spot in the conference.
It looks like the Commanders are looking to go with something of a clean slate, especially after the controversial Daniel Snyder sold them to a group headlined by billionaire investor Sam Harris and NBA legend Magic Johnson earlier this year.
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