An unlikely standoff has developed between Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians and Washington Football Team rookie pass rusher Chase Young.
Arians started the issue by effusively praising rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who starred in the Buccaneers’ 30-20 win over the Saints on Sunday. Arians pushed for Winfield to be named Defensive Rookie of the Year, even contrasting him with Young in the process.
Young was quiet initially, but it was clear he took notice of Arians’ remarks. On Monday afternoon, he retweeted a post arguing that Winfield hadn’t even had a better rookie season than Washington’s Kamren Curl, much less Young.
Who’s right? Curl did have more interceptions than Winfield, but Winfield bested him in tackles and sacks. More relevantly, Young had 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and ten tackles for loss. Those are hard numbers to beat for a rookie.
Arians and Young have actually been prodding at each other for a few weeks now. It’s a weird rivalry, but at this point, it’s sort of a trend.
More must-reads: