Saints' Chase Young Deal Tabbed 'Worst Decision Of Offseason'

The New Orleans Saints have struggled with cap space for quite a few years now. Despite that, they made a few head-scratching decisions during the offseason including the decision to re-sign defensive end Chase Young on a pretty expensive deal.

This deal isn't as bad since Derek Carr retired and removed $30 million off the Saints' payroll, but it's still questionable.

Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport recently called the Saints' decision to re-sign Young on a three-year, $51 million deal one of the worst offseason decisions in the league.

"It has been a rough offseason for the New Orleans Saints," Davenport wrote. "After quarterback Derek Carr’s retirement, the team’s likely Week 1 starter under center is a 25-year-old rookie in Tyler Shough. Entering free agency, the Saints had the least cap space in the league.

"It’s that latter reality that makes the three-year, $51 million contract the team gave edge-rusher Chase Young all the more baffling. There was a time when $17 million a season might have seemed a bargain for Young. But since taking home Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2020, Young has underwhelmed, in part due to injuries."

In the Saints' defense, Young is still quite new to the NFL. He's a young edge rusher with the potential to breakout for double digit sacks in a season if he can stay healthy.

But given their cap troubles, it was a bit confusing to see the team re-sign him for nearly $20 million a year. It's easy to call this a horrible deal for the Saints, but only time will tell if he's worth it over the next three seasons.

More NFL: Saints' $5 Million All-Pro Speedster 'Could Be On Trade Block'