The Washington Commanders had a difficult decision to make earlier this offseason with edge rusher, Chase Young. The No. 2 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft is entering the fourth season of his career, which meant they had a choice to make; either exercise or decline the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.
Washington elected to decline it, which means Chase Young will be a free agent after this season. While certainly an excruciating decision to make, it is hard to argue against the Commanders’ final determination.
Chase Young hasn’t gotten close to replicating the production that he had in 2020 when he took home the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. A devastating knee injury suffered in 2021 cut that campaign short and essentially cost him the 2022 season as well.
The Ohio State product has appeared in only 12 games since his rookie season, including three in 2022. But, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera admitted that the team knew it wouldn’t be the Chase Young of old returning to the field last season.
“It was almost kind of a pie in the sky that he would be who he is [when he returned in 2022],” Commanders coach Ron Rivera said. “[We realized] it’s just going to be a matter of time. He had to work through those things, [and] we were hoping he would get back soon, but it just didn’t work and that’s all part of it.”
While Chase Young wasn’t impactful in those three games, recording only five tackles with one quarterback hit and one pass defended, it certainly paid off mentally. Any nervousness about being back on the field and re-injuring the knee could be wiped away as he made it through unscathed.
This offseason, it also meant that Chase Young could focus solely on getting back into form on the field, not rehab. It has certainly paid off, as the former Buckeye shed his knee brace for the first training camp practice and is starting to look like the player we saw during his rookie season.
“I feel myself,” Young said, via Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. “I feel good, and I’m running around, and I’m feeling explosive again.”
Chase Young worked out at Ohio State this offseason, looking to regain the form that led to him being the No. 2 pick in 2020. He also had conversations with Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr., superstars who also have had to rehab from unfortunate knee injuries.
“They said, ‘We just bounce back. That’s just what we do,” Young said. “That’s my plan, and I guess y’all are just going to see what happens.”
The Commanders are certainly hoping that Chase Young returns to form, fortifying what is already a strong defensive line. If he can play at the level he showed as a rookie, Washington will have the best defensive line in the NFL with Montez Sweat as his bookend and Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne holding down the interior.
