Oct 31, 2023, 5:58 p.m. ET
At the NFL trade deadline, the 49ers acquire defensive end Chase Young from the Commanders for a third-round pick.
The Washington Commanders traded defensive end Chase Young to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round pick, it was announced Tuesday.
The move cut ties with its most productive pass rusher this season and marked a change in direction for the franchise, especially after trading defensive end Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears for a 2024 second-round pick earlier in the day.
Washington Commanders defensive end Chase Young (99) watches during the Cleveland Browns game against the Washington Commanders on January 1, 2023, at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire
Young would have been a free agent after the season. Washington declined to exercise its fifth-year option in the offseason. He would have counted $17.452 million against the 2024 salary cap, but would have also been guaranteed money.
For the 49ers, the trade for Young comes a day after coach Kyle Shanahan said general manager John Lynch was making calls but wasn’t sure which players might be available to bolster a team that was on a losing streak. three consecutive defeats.
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“If we think there’s an opportunity to improve, we’ll do it,” Shanahan said Monday. “It doesn’t seem like there are a lot of options available, but it certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t. I know we’ll look at it until the deadline and see if anything changes.”
What’s changed is that the Niners, who were expected to have as many as 12 picks in next year’s draft before Tuesday’s trade, found a potential solution to their pass rush woes for a reasonable price, largely due to the Young’s past injury problems.
Because there were lingering concerns about Young’s right knee (he tore his ACL and ruptured his patellar tendon in 2021), Washington was hesitant to make a commitment. Commanders coach Ron Rivera also said in the offseason that he hoped it would serve as motivation for Young to have a stronger season.
Young, who missed the opener with a neck injury, has five sacks in seven games and has also created 16 incompletions, which is tied for fourth in the NFL this season. In total, in 34 games over four seasons with Washington, Young had 14 sacks, 90 tackles and 6 forced fumbles (3 recovered).
The 49ers are projected to get a third-round compensatory pick for offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey and another third-round compensatory pick for the losses of Ran Carthon and Demeco Ryans, and one of those third-rounders was sent to Washington for Young.
When the Niners traded for wing Randy Gregory on Oct. 6, they made it clear they were looking to bolster their outside pass rush against Nick Bosa.
Through eight games, the non-Bosa defensive ends — Clelin Ferrell, Drake Jackson, Kerry Hyder Jr. and Gregory — have struggled to generate consistent pass rush. Of that group, Ferrell has the best pass rush win rate at 17%, and that quartet had a combined 5.5 sacks and 22 pressures.
Young, who combined with Bosa for 33 sacks as teammates at Ohio State during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, arrives with a 25% pass rush win rate this season, up from 19% in his first three years, and has 25 pressures, which ranks eighth in the NFL.
It’s the latest major investment the 49ers have made on the defensive line. That room now has five former first-round picks in Bosa, Young, Ferrell and defensive tackles Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw, and two former second-round picks in Jackson and Gregory. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave was a third-round pick, but he signed a four-year, $81 million contract with the Niners in the offseason.
Despite those investments, San Francisco has struggled to affect quarterbacks this season under new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. The Niners rank 24th in pressure percentage (26%) and are tied for 18th in sacks (18).
For Washington, trading Young and Sweat means the Commanders can turn their attention to quarterback Sam Howell, who has two years left on his rookie contract. That allows them to invest more elsewhere.
The Commanders handed out big contracts to defensive tackles Jon Allen and Daron Payne in each of the last two offseasons, but the high-priced line didn’t result in productive play from the defense.
Washington’s defense ranks 31st in scoring and 29th in yards per game. If those rankings continue, it would be the worst defensive performance in franchise history. Washington has never finished in the bottom four in points and yards since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Washington ranks sixth in the league with 25 sacks, but the Commanders rank 23rd in pass rusher win rate. Among defensive linemen, Young ranks fifth in this area, but none of his linemates are in the top 55.
Washington went with Young with the second pick in the 2020 draft over quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert in part because the franchise had selected Dwayne Haskins the year before in the first round. Although Rivera was hired in January 2020, the staff knew then-owner Dan Snyder was the one who wanted to recruit Haskins.
Young produced as a rookie with 7.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries. He returned a fumble for a touchdown.
However, Young started slowly in 2021, with just 1.5 sacks through the first nine games. He then hurt his knee. Initially it was believed to be just an ACL injury, but later news emerged about his patellar tendon. Young began practicing again in November, but did not play until the final three games.
Rivera said several times that Young had to regain confidence in his knee, even after doctors cleared his return.
2023-10-31 22:58:00
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