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New Orleans Saints edge rusher Chase Young.

More than a few eyebrows were raised when the New Orleans Saints decided to drop a bag on edge rusher Chase Young this offseason with a 3-year, $51 million free agent contract.

Young, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft by the Washington Commanders, received a significant raise over the 1-year, $13 million contract he played on with the Saints in 2024 and did so by being pretty average with 31 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 8 TFL but did have a career high 21 QB hits.

What Young has given back to the Saints in return to this point seems more on brand with how the rest of his career has gone — he was set to miss a fourth consecutive game with a calf injury for the winless Saints in Week 4 and has yet to play this season.

“Whatever the best case scenario for the Saints and what they expected (from Young), it ain’t that,” Locked On Saints host Ross Jackson said on his official X account. ” … When you are the top paid edge rusher and the biggest, best player on defense and you’re expected to be out there and you’re not that’s going to cause some frustration and going to cause some issues. So I don’t play anybody for being frustrated about that.”

Young’s entire career has been a study in frustration, beginning with his time with the Commanders/

Young Seemed Like Future of Franchise at One Point

The Commanders thought they’d drafted a generational talent when they took Young with the No. 2 overall pick in 2020. There’s some irony in that he was taken behind quarterback Joe Burrow to the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 1 overall — 2 players who have seen their careers defined by injury more than anything else.

Young started off his NFL career like a Man on Fire with a career highs in tackles (44), sacks (7.5), TFL (10), forced fumbles (4), fumble recoveries (3) and pass deflections (4) as a rookie. That year, he was selected to the Pro Bowl, won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and even led the Commanders to a rare playoff berth.

Following a torn ACL suffered in Week 10 of the 2021 regular season, Young missed 22 of the next 25 regular-season games, including all but 3 games in 2022.

Young revamped his career in 2023 with 7.5 sacks while playing for both the Commanders and the San Francisco 49ers after a midseason trade and was a role player as the 49ers made it to the Super Bowl.

Saints Called Out For Paying Young Big Money

Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox put Young’s new deal at the top of his list of the NFL’s “Biggest Contract Blunders” in the 2025 offseason.

In 5 seasons, Young has never finished in the Top 25 in the NFL in sacks.

“t was strange to see Young get that sort of deal this offseason following another good-not-great season,” Knox wrote on July 21. “What made this a poor decision by New Orleans, though, was its cap situation … Given Young’s injury history and the state of the Saints franchise, his extension represented a very unnecessary risk. Young is only 26 years old and still has the potential to develop into a dependable starter, but New Orleans’ money would have been better spent elsewhere.”

Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame

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