Chase Young Trade Rumors: Commanders 'Open to Listening' to Offers in Contract Year

The Washington Commanders declined to pick up the fifth-year option on Chase Young's rookie contract in April, which is the type of the decision that potentially could foreshadow a divorce with the edge-rusher down the line.

Could the team ultimately trade him? Albert Breer of The MMQB wrote on Tuesday that "teams coming out of the spring thinking they need more help may make trade calls on Young (it seems unlikely the Washington brass would move him ahead of a must-win year, but I know they'd be open to listening)."

Young, 24, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, but injuries have limited him to only 27 games in his three seasons.

When healthy, Young has been dynamic. He was a Pro Bowler and the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020 after notching 44 tackles (10 for loss), 7.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown in 15 games.

But an ACL tear in Nov. 2021 cut that season short and kept him out of action for all but three games last year. That injury history, combined with the Commanders potentially wanting to see how Young rebounded in 2023, played a part in the team rejecting his fifth-year option.

But the young defensive end, to his credit, said he wasn't surprised or upset by that decision.

"Not disappointing at all," he told reporters Tuesday. "I'm ready to go."

He added that he was feeling far better at the team's minicamp this week than he did when he returned for the end of the 2022 season.

"Night and day," he told reporters. "Night and day. ... My confidence, my strength. Everything."

Because Washington bypassed his option, he'll hit free agency in the same offseason as teammate and fellow defensive end Montez Sweat. It may be a challenge for the Commanders to keep both players since they've already committed significant extensions to a pair of interior linemen.

Daron Payne signed a four-year, $90 million extension this offseason, while Jonathan Allen inked a four-year, $72 million deal in 2021. It's possible that Sweat and Young are effectively competing with one another for long-term extensions in Washington.

Sweat has been the more consistent and durable player in his four seasons, with 29 sacks and only seven games missed total, all in the 2021 campaign. But Young's talent is greater and his ceiling is higher, as he demonstrated in his rookie season.

That may have NFL teams calling. But if Young seems primed for a monster 2023 season through training camp and the preseason, it's hard to imagine the Commanders letting him go.