According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Commanders are “open to listening” to a possible Chase Young trade. Young was a dominate pass rusher during his career at Ohio State but has lacked productivity in the NFL. He has only tallied nine sacks over his first three seasons with the commanders. However, he has only started 26 games out of the possible 52 due to various injuries.
The Commanders elected not to pick up Young’s fifth year option, which means he is entering into a contract year. If Young cannot produce this year, there is a high likelihood that the commanders let him walk in free agency. However, teams that are closer to contending could use the one year of his contract to make a playoff push.
One of these possible contenders is the Pittsburgh Steelers. While they barely missed the playoffs last year, the organization believes that they are ready to compete at the top level. If the team is able to pull off a trade for Chase Young, he could help to push them over the edge.
The Steelers already have one of the best defenses in the NFL. The true strength of the defense is the defensive front. Adding a player with the potential of Young to a the combination of T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward could prove deadly.
Another interesting aspect of the possible addition would be the role of Alex Highsmith. Highsmith had a breakout season last year finishing with 14.5 sacks. Although, the Steelers will need to resign him, as this is the last year of his contract. The addition of Young could mean that the Steelers now have more leverage in negotiations. If Highsmith asks for too much money or has an underwhelming season, they could sign Young.
While this may sound like a no brainer for the Steelers, a lot of risk is taken on given Young’s injury history. Young returned last season for only three games after tearing his ACL in 2021. Prior to this Injury he also had issues with groin strains.
Another possibility is that Young just isn’t ever going to take that next step. Coming out of college, he was widely regarded as a future superstar. He possesses insane athleticism that allowed him to completely dominate college offensive lineman. Once he reached the NFL, he could no longer rely on this to win as consistently. He needs to develop more on the technical side of pass rushing to truly become elite.
The hope would be that the Steelers could coach him well enough to develop him into one of the league’s best. If there’s any team that can do it, it would be Pittsburgh.
The other issue with acquiring Young is that he will not be cheap. An article from Bleacher Report predicts teams giving up second or third round picks. It is very uncommon for the Steelers to trade that much capital for players unless they are proven stars.
On the other hand, similar players around the league have been being traded for little to nothing. Recently, the Browns traded a 6th round pick for a star edge rusher in Zadarius Smith. If the Steelers could acquire Young for anywhere around that price, it would be a steal.
If the Steelers truly think that Young is the missing piece to a historic defense, a trade is inevitable. It could be risky, but the Steelers traded a first rounder for Minkah Fitzpatrick a couple years ago and that paid off immensely. A Chase Young trade, if done correctly, could be one of the smartest moves in franchise history.
Stay tuned for more exciting NFL content, including roster moves, in depth analysis, and more news from around the league.
Feature image courtesy of Commanders.com
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