As the trade deadline draws closer, many teams have important decisions to make with short- and long-term roster implications. In the case of the Commanders, the team’s plans regarding its top two edge-rushers will be worth watching.
Chase Young and Montez Sweat have been mentioned in trade speculation given their lack of commitments beyond this year from Washington. The former is set to hit free agency in March since his fifth-year option was not picked up, while the latter is playing out his option ($11.5M) this season. Both remain full-time starters whose performances will go a long way in determining their respective futures in the nation’s capital.
On that point, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Commanders plan to have both Young and Sweat in the fold for years to come, meaning they are not looking to trade either of them. Young, the second overall pick in 2020, has been marred by injury troubles since his Rookie of the Year-winning debut season. This year, however, the 24-year-old has suited up in five of six games and produced three sacks and 15 QB pressures.
Sweat leads the Commanders with 4.5 sacks this year, putting him halfway to his career-high in that department from 2020. Washington has posted 19 total sacks this season, demonstrating the effectiveness of its Day 1-laden defensive front — led along the interior by Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen — when healthy. Both Allen (in 2021) and Payne (this past March) inked big-ticket extensions, making it a potentially tricky proposition to commit to one or both of Young and Sweat on lucrative second contracts of their own.
As Fowler adds, the Commanders’ desire to keep both of their starting defensive ends won’t preclude them from listening to offers ahead of this year’s Oct. 31 deadline. In the event a deal were to be given serious consideration and ultimately finalized, Young would be the likelier edge-rusher to be moved, Fowler notes. That falls in line with the prevailing thought concerning the latter, who did not come close to replicating his Pro Bowl season from 2020 in his limited action over the two following campaigns. (Although his play so far this season has been more encouraging.)
Sitting at 3-3, the Commanders are one of several teams which cannot be firmly placed into the buyers or sellers category at this point. Continued strong play from both Young and Sweat could make the team’s decision on their fates easier, but interested teams could emerge with a less cumbersome financial outlook along the D-line regarding 2024 and beyond. It will thus be interesting to see how much of a market develops for the pair, and the price at which Washington could be willing to pull off a trade.
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