Photo from voluntary workouts suggests Chase Young is dominating ACL rehab

The Washington Commanders‘ offseason workout program is underway and fans will love hearing that every player is expected to report. On Monday, they nearly had a full squad save a few players who were still traveling from Easter.

Terry McLaurin wasn’t there, but he will arrive Tuesday and is not expected to participate in any on-field work during the offseason as he awaits a new contract.

Given some other extension-eligible star receivers have opted to not even show up to voluntary workouts, McLaurin deserves credit for not letting his status as a team leader be interrupted by his contract situation.

The other takeaways from the first day? Carson Wentz was in attendance, Curtis Samuel participated in conditioning drills (baby steps, people) and Chase Young showed he might just be ahead of schedule in his recovery.

Why do we say that? Well, Young was spotted pushing a sled … without any protection on his surgically-repaired knee! Check this out.

Is Commanders DE Chase Young ahead of schedule in his ACL rehab?

The sled isn’t stacked to the nines with plates like you would expect for a defensive end with Young’s generational strength, but we’ll take whatever we can get considering he’s still just a few months removed from surgery.

And the fact Young isn’t even wearing a brace to support to knee?

We’re not sure what they have going on in Colorado — where Young was said to have spent the majority of his rehab with “notable” individuals — but this photo sure makes it seem like the star edge rusher is dominating his recovery.

The last we heard of Young’s rehab came in February when he appeared on ESPN Washington reporter John Keim’s podcast.

During the interview, Young revealed he was already squatting 225 pounds, which sounds improbable for someone who didn’t go under the knife until late November. Additionally, the former No. 2 overall pick shared he was executing one-leg squats while putting all of his weight on the injured knee.

That was three months removed from surgery. The fact Young is pushing sleds with zero resistance five months removed, well, let’s just say we’re excited to see what’s up next on the hurdle-clearing agenda.

Ron Rivera noted recently that Young experienced an “awakening” as a sophomore after he slumped through his second year in the NFL. Of course, it started with him not reporting for the start of voluntary workouts and that snowballed into a lackluster nine-game run before the non-contact injury end his season.

There’s still a possibility Young isn’t fully cleared for the start of training camp, which would likely rule him out for the first few games of next season. But let’s not worry about that right now. The fact he’s present at OTAs and pushing sleds is a great sign … and a great way for him to celebrate his 23rd birthday.