With the Washington Commanders possibly being open to trade Chase Young, the Indianapolis Colts were named as a potential suitor.
Not long ago, Chase Young was an elite draft prospect that was selected No. 2 overall by the Washington Commanders in the 2020 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Young quickly lived up to all of the pre-draft hype, recording seven sacks, 44 tackles, 10 for a loss, and forcing four fumbles in his first season in the NFL. Unfortunately, things have been a bit rocky since then.
Young’s play hasn’t necessarily declined, he has just been dealing with a major knee injury. Young tore his ACL and patellar tendon during his second season, and that led to him only playing in 12 games over the last two seasons. Now, Young is entering his fourth season in the league, and the Commanders declined his fifth-year option.
That means Young will be a free agent in 2024. It also means that Washington could trade him before then so that they don’t lose him for nothing in free agency. Since the Commanders do have a young, talented defensive line, trading Young could be a real possibility.
With that being the case, Cody Benjamin recently looked at seven logical suitors for Chase Young. One of the seven teams that Benjamin listed was the Indianapolis Colts. Is this a trade that the Colts would make?
Could the Colts actually trade for Chase Young?
Indianapolis pretty much has been looking for elite pass rushing since Chris Ballard became the general manager. Ballard always drafts defensive linemen, and last offseason, he traded for Yannick Ngakoue. However, Ngakoue is done with the team after one season, and Indy’s top edge rushers are currently Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam.
Paye and Ebukam both are promising players, but there probably aren’t any people who believe they have a higher ceiling than Chase Young. Even after his knee injury, Young would be the top edge rusher for the Colts right now, and he’s only 24 years old.
He’d be a great addition for Indianapolis. Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine that the Colts would trade for Young right now. With only a year left on his contract, it’s more likely that Indianapolis waits until Young is a free agent to target him.