The New Orleans Saints signed edge rusher Chase Young in free agency knowing full well that he would be missing some time with neck surgery.
However, it’s looking like Young has made significant progress.
“He’s certainly ahead of where we thought he was going to be at this point in time and so, I think the ramp up for him is just every day, you’re going to see a little bit more,” head coach Dennis Allen said, via John DeShazier of the Saints’ official team website. “Now, what’s a little bit more? Well, it may be a couple more reps each period until finally, we’re ready to fully incorporate him into the whole deal.”
Injuries are nothing new for Young.
The Ohio State product has appeared in a grand total of 43 games across four NFL seasons and has never played a full campaign.
But perhaps 2024 could be different for the former No. 2 overall pick.
“I haven’t seen any limitations at all out of him, other than its really kind of been a while since he’s really been playing real football,” added Allen. “Just trying to get his football legs up under him a little bit, and I like the progress.”
When Washington selected Young with the second pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, expectations were through the roof. Young was expected to be a dominant force, and early on, he displayed his immense potential.
In 15 games during his rookie campaign, Young racked up 44 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumbles recoveries and a defensive touchdown en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.
Since then, however, it has been a rough ride for Young.
He proceeded to tear his ACL nine games into his sophomore season and was then limited to just three games in 2022 as a result. Over that time, Young accumulated just 1.5 sacks.
The 25-year-old then missed last year’s season opener with the Commanders due to a stinger, but he then went on to have a solid bounceback year, finishing with 25 tackles and 7.5 sacks between Washington and the San Francisco 49ers (he was traded at the deadline in late October).
Of course, that is still not the type of production everyone was hoping for when Young came out of college.
Young is on a one-year deal with the Saints, so he certainly has to prove himself in 2024.
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