Chase Young did arrive as the Washington Commanders began Phase One of their offseason training program. Now, does that increase the likelihood that head coach Ron Rivera will exercise the former No. 2 overall draft pick's fifth-year option?
"No," The Athletic's Ben Standig told Kevin Sheehan Monday. "But I think it would've probably been more likely to go the other way if he hadn't shown, especially based on the things Ron has been saying about 'looking forward to seeing him there' and 'checking him out' and things like that. So, no, I would be surprised if this were to change their opinion of one way or the other, but nonetheless, he is there. And, of course, being there is one thing... but now you're here, what do you got going on? I think the knee, from what I can tell, isn't an issue, but where are your pass rushing moves? Have you developed a countermove? What have you done in the offseason to take your game to another level? That's the type of stuff they can start looking at a little bit closer and obviously try and help him develop further.
"Him being there is important, but now it's also what have you been up to?"
For Sheehan, the situation can be simplified like this: If the Commanders trust Young and believe he can be the player they drafted they will pick-up his fifth-year option. If they don't pick up the option, it means they don't really trust his committment and they don't think he'll develop into the player they drafted.
"I don't know which one they'll choose, I'm leaning towards the latter that they ultimately won't pick it up," Sheehan said. "There's too much risk to pick it up, if they don't really believe and trust in his ability to become the player that they thought he would become."
Standig said the fact that this is even a topic of conversation puts enough doubt into the conversation that he would decline the option, which doesn't close the door of Young re-signing with the Commanders down the road if he shows up and performs up to his potential.
The risk of the Commanders locking themselves into the position to keep Young could close the door on re-signing Montez Sweat and the risk is Young may never live up to his potential as Sweat walks in free agency as a top perfromer.
In addition to Young, Sweat, Sam Howell and Kam Curl were among the players seen walking into the team's facility earlier on Monday.
Standig and Sheehan talk about the Commanders ownership situation, plus Jalen Hurts becoming the highest-paid player in NFL history and what that means for Lamar Jackson and a brief update on Carson Wentz's free agency (not much there on that one).
Follow @BenKrimmel for more.
Follow The Kevin Sheehan Show on Twitter: @kevinsheehandc & @sheehanpodcast
Keep up with The Team 980 via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Related
Related
