Chase Young didn’t exactly fly off the board in free agency, but he ultimately found a home, signing a one-year, $13 million deal with the New Orleans Saints on Monday.
Apparently, the Saints had what Young was looking for all along.
“Just excited to be a Saint,” Young said, via John DeShazier of the Saints’ official team website. “Just excited to help this team, grateful for the opportunity and my plan is to make the most of it and help this team get to that one common goal.”
The fact that the edge rusher had to settle for a one-year deal is not surprising, as it’s still hard to decipher exactly what type of player he is moving forward.
He may not have gotten a multi-year contract, but he is still thrilled to land in New Orleans.
“The Saints are one of those places with a winning culture,” Young said. “That’s what I wanted to be around, and I feel like this was the place for me.”
Young split the 2023 campaign between the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers, registering 25 tackles and 7.5 sacks in 16 games.
The 24-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Ohio State, was selected by Washington with the second overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
He enjoyed an impressive rookie year, racking up 44 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown.
However, the following season, Young tore his ACL nine games into the campaign. He was limited to just 12 games between 2021 and 2022 as a result, amassing a grand total of 1.5 sacks during that span.
The Upper Marlboro, Md. native had a bit of a bounceback year this past season, but he was still inconsistent, as he logged just 2.5 sacks in nine games with the 49ers.
Still, there is no doubting that Chase Young has talent, and perhaps a sack-needy team like the Saints can help bring it out of him.
New Orleans posted just 34 sacks in 2023.
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