49ers Star Pass-Rusher Might Join the Titans in rebuilding
One of the club’s best additions, defensive lineman Chase Young, whom the 49ers acquired in a blockbuster trade before the NFL trade deadline in October, will be starting for the team in the playoffs. However, it’s unclear for how long Young will last with a 49ers club that has salary-cap problems this summer. Pro Football Focus has taken notice of it and believes that the Tennessee Titans should challenge Young head-to-head in the summer.
It was certainly understood when the 49ers acquired Young that he may just be a temporary acquisition due to his upcoming free agency. However, he has been a great bookend for Nick Bosa, so it’s possible that the 49ers may make further sacrifices to keep Young around.
According to PFF, “Chase Young is coming off the best season of his NFL career, with a pass-rush grade of 75.8 from 480 pass-rushing snaps and 66 quarterback pressures.” However, it wouldn’t be shocking if he accepted a one-year deal as a prove-it instead of agreeing to a long-term agreement with a lower cap. After the in-season trade, he performed better with the Commanders than the 49ers; nonetheless, he still finished the regular season with 233 snaps and 28 pressures with San Francisco.
49ers Chase Young May Sign a Short-Term Contract
The 49ers may be able to retain Young in free agency this winter if his best offer is for a short-term agreement that keeps them from making a major long-term commitment. For the next season, PFF predicts Young to sign a one-year, $15 million deal, which San Francisco would find acceptable.
According to Spotrac, Young could command a comparable price, about $13.6 million. However, the contract site shows that Young will get $27.3 million for a two-year agreement. The 49ers might be scared off by the extra year.
Young is undoubtedly keen to remain in San Francisco. He and Bosa were Ohio State teammates in college, and they are both looking forward to their reunion. All season long, the 49ers lacked a quality complement for Bosa, which let other teams concentrate their blocking tactics on him.
According to 49ers Web Zone, Bosa told reporters, “Just having him out there is really good energy.” “He is thrilled to play outside. In the game, he wants to obtain those crucial repetitions. And when he or I put pressure on each other, it appears like the other man cleans it up after we’ve finished talking about what we’re going to do before the play.
For his part, Young is really grateful to get the opportunity to play with Bosa. It may make sense for Young to stay with the 49ers after an injury-plagued rookie season, repair his reputation where he feels comfortable with Bosa, and reenter the market the following season.
“Nick kind of catered to me when I got to O-State,” Young said earlier this year to NBC Sports Bay Area. “I believe he was aware of my skill when I first arrived, since I was able to adapt and learn things just as fast as he did. I had the impression that he had taken hold of me and was saying, “Come here, I’m going to teach you how to be a great player.”
Veteran sports writer Sean Deveney works for Heavy.com, covering the NBA and NFL. With over 20 years of NBA coverage experience, including 17 years as the main NBA correspondent for Sporting News, he has been writing for Heavy since 2019. A writer of seven nonfiction books, Deveney is the author of “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” Additional details on Sean Deveney
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