Commanders News: Chase Young trade, sale, player award and Sam Howell

Will Commanders trade Chase Young during the draft?

Chase Young has the weight of the world on his shoulders heading into the 2023 season. The defensive end must bounce back from two frustrating campaigns due to injury if he wants to stand any chance of avoiding the dreaded draft bust tag after the Washington Commanders took him No. 2 overall in 2020.

There have also been some murmurings about the Commanders trading Young to accumulate additional draft capital. Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus recently brought up the topic, highlighting that although unlikely, it’s something that cannot be dismissed if everything checks out medically.

"“This one may be a bit of a stretch, but with the fifth-year option deadline for 2020 first-round picks on May 1 rapidly approaching — the Monday after the draft — perhaps Washington will let another team make the very difficult decision of whether to fully guarantee $17.452 million for (Chase) Young in 2024. If other teams are comfortable with Young’s medical situation after he missed considerable time with a knee injury, would they bring him aboard during the draft, exercise his fifth-year option and see what he offers in 2023 before entertaining an extension?”"

The Commanders have Young’s fifth-year option to figure out in the coming weeks. But would they consider a decent offer from elsewhere to give up on the former Ohio State stud entirely?

Perhaps removing Young entirely from the equation would come back to haunt Washington. The athletic attributes have never been in question, it’s staying healthy that represents the biggest concern.