NFL Rumors: Chase Young, Saints Agree to 1-Year, $13M Contract After 49ers Stint

Chase Young is on the verge of finding a new home with the New Orleans Saints.

Per NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Saints are expected to get a deal done with Young.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Young will receive $13 million fully guaranteed for one year.

Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported Young was visiting with the Saints on Monday after having to reschedule it from last week.

Young had his best season since winning Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020. He set a career high with 15 quarterback hits and tied his career high with 7.5 sacks in 16 games between the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers.

With Young coming off two injury-plagued years in 2021 and 2022, the Commanders elected not to exercise the fifth-year option in his rookie deal.

Washington's front office made the decision to sell ahead of the trade deadline, leading to Young being dealt to the 49ers on Nov. 1 in exchange for a 2024 third-round draft pick.

San Francisco used Young primarily as a rotation player. He didn't start in any of his nine regular-season games with the team and only played more than 70 percent of the defensive snaps in Week 18 against the Los Angeles Rams when most of the regulars were held out.

Young had two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and one sack in the 49ers' postseason run. His sack was against Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl.

Even though Young hasn't lived up to what was expected of him as the No. 2 overall pick, he's been a productive pass-rusher when his body has allowed him to play. He's had 7.5 sacks in each of the two seasons he's appeared in at least 10 games.

The torn ACL and patellar tendon Young suffered midway through the 2021 season kept him out for 13 months before he returned for the final three games of the 2022 campaign.

There's certainly some risk involved with this deal, but finding an edge-rusher with Young's ability at this still-young point in his career is incredibly rare. He will play the entire 2024 season at the age of 25.

Now that Young appears to be completely back from that injury, there are reasons for New Orleans to be optimistic he can hit another gear.

The Saints are never not trying to compete for a playoff spot, so it's not a surprise to see them take a swing on Young reaching his full potential.

While there were several reasons to explain why New Orleans missed the playoffs last season, one of the biggest was its lack of a standout pass-rusher.

Per ESPN's pass-rush win rate metric, the Saints ranked 31st in the NFL. The only team they were ahead of was the Atlanta Falcons. Carl Granderson and Demario Davis were the only players on the defense with more than five sacks.

Young hasn't proved himself to be the game-changer many expected him to be when he was drafted No. 2 overall in 2020, but his upside is greater than anyone else the Saints have on their defensive line.

If defensive coordinator Joe Woods can harness Young's natural ability and translate it into consistent performance, the Saints will have added one of the biggest free-agent bargains this offseason.