Chase Young has been looking to get back to the dominant player that was drafted by Washington with the No. 2 overall pick and dominated in the NFL in his first professional season, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Now he will have a chance to prove himself on a one-year contract with the New Orleans Saints.
Coming out of Ohio State as the consensus can’t miss prospect behind QB Joe Burrow, Young thrived in hist first pro season, finishing the year with 44 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and another four pass deflections.
He was as advertised and Washington Commanders fans were ecstatic about having a dominant pass rusher in D.C. to add to their formidable defensive line filled with first-round playmakers.
But Chase Young’s second season wasn’t as good, and then he tore his ACL. His recovery was slow. He had 1.5 sacks in his second and third seasons combined. The Commanders didn’t pick up his fifth-year option, and then traded him during last season to the 49ers.
The 49ers are deep on the defensive line and it took a while for Young to find his role, but San Francisco promoted him to the starting lineup at the start of the postseason. Young looked explosive in the Super Bowl, which was great timing as he got set to hit free agency. He created constant havoc for Patrick Mahomes and even recorded a sack in a critical moment.
Given Young’s age, draft pedigree, rookie season and how he looked in his last game, there was going to be a market for him. Just not the one you’d have envisioned when he was a rookie star in Washington.
Chase Young’s Deal With New Orleans Saints Looked Great, But There Are Key Caveats
Initially, it appeared as if the Saints brass were betting big on Young to get back to his true form when the deal was initially reported as a fully-guaranteed contract worth $13 million.
When it comes to NFL contracts, they aren’t always what they appear to be when reported. This is exactly the case when it comes to Chase Young’s new deal with the New Orleans Saints.
His contract comes with a major asterisk.
While initial reports stated the Saints were giving Young a fully guaranteed 13$ contract, there are caveats built in to protect the organization from the former Ohio State star’s injury history since joining the NFL.
According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, close to $8 million of the aforementioned sum is based on per-game bonuses of $470,000. While the bonuses are guaranteed, Young needs to remain on the roster to get them, which means he would be forfeiting them if he got cut,
There is some risk given his injury history. As a matter of fact, he is already set to undergo surgery on his injured neck, though he is expected to return to action before the start of the 2024 season, but even that should raise concern for New Orleans Saints fans as injuries have derailed his promising career so far.
Chase Young could only manage 12 appearances in the two years that followed his rookie season. He was on the field more often in 2023, making seven appearances for the Washington Commanders before being traded to the 49ers in October. He played nine regular-season games for SF, adding three in the playoffs.
He is now on his third NFL team since Halloween and will hope to bounce back from his latest surgery with a campaign that lives up to the expectations placed on him when he came into the league as the No. 2 overall pick.
The Saints, meanwhile, are playing it safe. They are committing to one year filled with incentive-based bonuses that will allow them to evaluate him for the future.
Should Chase Young regain that rookie form with New Orleans Saints, he would be considered a bargain. But at this point, nothing is certain.
