The 49ers recently threw away a fifth-round pick in 2025 when the NFL penalized them for multiple accounting errors. That was bad. But they also threw away a third-round pick in 2024 when they traded it to the Washington Commanders for Chase Young, and that was worse.
The 49ers really thought Young would be the missing piece to their Super Bowl run. They thought they were getting a bargain, like when they traded a third-round pick to Washington for Trent Williams. They figured Washington didn't know what they had in Young, and that Young would play better for them.
Sure, the Commanders drafted Young with the second pick in the 2020 and gave him every opportunity to play hard and show something -- anything. And he never did. Even in a contract year.
The 49ers thought Young would play hard for them because they were a Super Bowl contender. Wrong. They also thought Young would play hard because he was reuniting with Nick Bosa, his college teammate. Wrong.
As Washington already knew, nothing could motivate Young to play hard. Even in the NFC Championship Game, he jogged around the field during touchdown runs. The Commanders must have laughed.
This offseason, the 49ers didn't even offer Young a contract -- they were done with him. And so he signed with the New Orleans Saints, who are going nowhere. A perfect spot for him.
And sure, the 49ers should eventually get a compensatory pick in exchange for Young, but it won't be as valuable as the third-round pick they traded to get him.
I bet they wish they had that back.
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