The Washington Commanders have until May 1 to exercise the fifth-year option for Chase Young. By all accounts, the team is weighing its options before making a call. Apparently, the Commanders won’t decide until they revisit Young’s recovery from his torn ACL in 2021.
Commanders’ head coach Ron Rivera confirmed that Young’s health “will drive a big part of the conversation” on a fifth-year option.
“As we continue to work through this and talk about it, it will be about seeing him and watching him,” Rivera explained, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. “Again, we get April 17, so we’ll continue to work through all these things — talk to the doctors, talk to the trainers, strength and medical — and just get a feel of where he is. Then we’ll be about to make a decision, and we’ll go from there.”
Chase Young tore his ACL and ruptured his patellar tendon in his right knee during a Week 10 game in 2021 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He underwent surgery sometime shortly. His recovery led him to start the 2022 season on the physically unable-to-perform list. Young didn’t make his season debut until Week 15. He missed a total of 22 games over the span of two seasons due to the injury.
Young was apprehensive about the rehab and recovery, which may have delayed his return to the field. A visit in February with the famed Dr. James Andrews may have been an enormous step.
Washington will start its offseason program on April 17. That’s when the Commanders will get another look at Young’s progress before they can commit to the $17.45 million option on him for the 2024 season.
Young exploded at the start of his career after Washington selected him second overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. He had 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. But he had a sophomore slump the following season with 1.5 sacks before getting injured. Now, his future in Washington may be cut short based on the team’s decision in less than four weeks.
