This could be a good pickup. The New Orleans Saints plan to host former San Francisco 49ers and Washington Commanders defensive end Chase Young on a free agent visit this week, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, but there’s a catch: the Carolina Panthers will meet with him first. Pelissero’s colleague Ian Rapoport says Young has added a visit with the Tennessee Titans to his tour schedule.
Young, 24, was the second overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft and won recognition as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year for his efforts rushing the quarterback. He didn’t sustain that production, though, and was traded to the 49ers at last season’s deadline; where he drew criticism for showing poor effort on some critical plays.
But when he’s on, there are few players who can match Young’s combination speed and agility around the edge. The Saints have to be desperate to improve their pass rush after sacking the quarterback just 34 times in 17 games last season, which tied for the fourth-fewest total around the league. But the Panthers were even worse with an NFL-low 27 sacks, and they just traded their best pass rusher by sending Brian Burns to the New York Giants (who, coincidentally, were the team the Saints tied in sacks).
Carolina can outspend New Orleans here, and there’s some risk in signing a player with a bad reputation for taking plays off, so this isn’t necessarily a sure thing. Stay tuned.
