One of the exciting aspects of the NFL is when a player gets a second chance with a team where things didn’t initially work out. The Washington Commanders have a unique opportunity to create that narrative by addressing a key roster need through a trade for New Orleans Saints edge rusher Chase Young before the November 5 NFL trade deadline.
Young, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Commanders and the 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year, saw his career derailed by injuries before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.
In March 2024, Young signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Saints. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox recently listed Young as a top trade target before Week 8, with the Saints struggling at 2-5 after a fifth straight loss, 33-10, to the Denver Broncos.
“Trading pass rusher Chase Young, who is on a one-year, $13 million deal, wouldn’t provide cap relief for 2025,” Knox noted, “but it could bring valuable draft picks. Young has posted 1.5 sacks and 13 quarterback pressures in seven games this season.”
Trade Loophole Could Allow For Young’s Return
A common initial reaction to the idea of Chase Young returning to Washington via trade might be to assume it violates the NFL’s rules prohibiting teams from re-acquiring players through trade within a two-year period. These rules, as explained by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on his official X account on September 30, are meant to prevent a team from trading away a player and reacquiring them too soon.
However, there may be a loophole in the wording of the NFL’s trade rules that could allow for Young’s return to the Commanders. The rules use terms like “assignor club” — in this case, the Commanders, referring to the team that traded the player — and “assignee club” for the receiving team, which would be the 49ers, and then the Saints.
The key point is that while the Commanders were the “assignor club” when they traded Young to the 49ers, once Young became an unrestricted free agent after the 2023 season, his ties to Washington were severed. The argument could be made that, as a free agent, Young effectively became his own “assignor club,” making his own decision to sign with the Saints on a one-year deal in 2024.
From this perspective, the two-year trade restriction no longer applies since Young was no longer tied to the Commanders when he entered free agency. Therefore, the NFL’s rule banning re-acquisitions via trade should no longer apply to him.
Young Never Fulfilled Early Promise in Washington
Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder identified edge rusher as one of the key weaknesses for the Commanders heading into Week 8, despite the team sitting atop the NFC East with a 5-2 record.
Chase Young was actually part of Washington’s last playoff team in 2020, a season in which they fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Round. That year, Young earned NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and made his only Pro Bowl appearance.
However, his career was derailed by a torn ACL in Week 10 of the 2021 season, causing him to miss 22 of the next 25 regular-season games. This included all but three games in 2022, during which he recorded only 1.5 sacks over those two seasons.
Young bounced back in 2023 after leaving Washington, recording 7.5 sacks — matching his rookie total — and even notching a sack for the 49ers in their overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
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