Commanders trade Chase Young to 49ers for third-round pick

The Washington Commanders have traded defensive end Chase Young to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round draft pick, it was announced Tuesday.

The move cut ties with their most productive passer this season and signaled a change in direction for the franchise, especially after trading fellow defensive end Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears for a 2024 second-round pick earlier in the daytime.

Young would have been a free agent after the season. Washington declined to pick up his fifth-year option during the offseason. That would have counted $17.452 million toward the 2024 salary cap, but also would have been guaranteed.

For the 49ers, the Young trade comes a day after coach Kyle Shanahan said general manager John Lynch was working the phones but didn’t know which players might be available to bolster a team on a three-game losing streak consecutive.

“If we think there’s a chance to improve, we will,” Shanahan said Monday. “It doesn’t seem like there are a lot of options, but that doesn’t mean for sure that there aren’t. I know we’ll look at this 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 rushing woes for a reasonable price , largely due to Young’s past injury issues.

Because there were lingering concerns about Young’s right knee — he tore his ACL and ruptured his patella tendon in 2021 — Washington was hesitant to commit. Commanders coach Ron Rivera also said during 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, had five sacks in seven games and also created 16 incompletions, which 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 recoveries).

The 49ers are expected 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, with one of those third-rounders being sent to Washington for Young.

When the Niners traded for tight end Randy Gregory on Oct. 6, they made it clear they were looking to strengthen their outside pass rush opposite Nick Bosa.

Through eight games, non-Bosa defensive ends — Clelin Ferrell, Drake Jackson, Kerry Hyder Jr. and Gregory — have struggled to generate a consistent pass rush. Of this group, Ferrell has the best win rate at 17%, and this quartet has totaled 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, comes in with a 25% win rate this season, up from 19% in his first three years, and has 25 pressures, which ranks eighth in the NFL.

This is the latest big investment the 49ers have made in the defensive line. This room now has five former first-round picks, Bosa, Young, Ferrell and defensive tackles Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw, as well as two former second-round picks, Jackson and Gregory. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave was a third-round pick, but signed a four-year, $81 million contract with the Niners during the offseason.

Despite these investments, San Francisco has struggled to assign 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 remaining on his rookie contract. This allows them to invest more elsewhere.

The Commanders gave big contracts to defensive tackles Jon Allen and Daron Payne in each of the last two offseasons, but the expensive line hasn’t resulted in productive play from the defense.

Washington’s defense ranks 31st in scoring and 29th in yards per game. If this ranking continues, 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 are 23rd in winning rate. Among defensive linemen, Young ranks fifth in this area – but none of his teammates are in the top 55.

Washington opted for Young as the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft over quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert, in part because the franchise had drafted Dwayne Haskins the year before in the first round. Although Rivera was hired in January 2020, the staff knew that 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 got off to a slow start in 2021, with just 1.5 sacks in the first nine games. He then injured his knee. It was initially thought to be solely an ACL injury, but news later surfaced regarding his patellar tendon. Young began practicing again in November but only played the final three games.

Rivera repeatedly said Young needed to regain confidence in his knee, even after doctors cleared him to return.