Guaranteed contracts are a big topic in DC football right now, and when Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus joined BMitch & Finlay on Tuesday, the first one that came up was the curious case of Chase Young.
"I think it was one of the more interesting decisions of the fifth-year option era, especially since 2018 where they're fully guaranteed," Spielberger said. "Maybe if it was the old rule where it wasn't guaranteed for injury only, things would have been different."
With Young in his final guaranteed year, Spielberger believes that if the Commanders don't have an extension with Montez Sweat done by the end of camp, chances are they're going to lose one of Sweat or Young – so that's why he's curious about Young not getting the option simply for the leverage.
"I get the injuries are significant for Young, so not wanting to guarantee $17.5 million makes sense, but when he plays, he looks pretty good to me," Spielberger said. "I'm surprised they didn't give themselves the added time to figure things out, because if he performs like we know he can and they don't extend Sweat, it limits what they can do in 2024 and beyond."
JP thinks local Commanders fans support that decision not to pick up the option, though, so is it just a national pundit thing?
"I get it as well based on it being a significant injury, but I take the contractual view lens over the on-field production," Spielberger said. "He still grades in the 80s for us even if his sack total isn't high, so I get why fans weren't upset, and I'm not saying they should be, but it's a tough reality of the new rules in place, and I found it very interesting how they went about it."
And what happens, BMitch asked, if both Sweat and Young play well and the team franchise tags one and the other decides to bolt because of it?
"In theory it's a good problem to have if both players play well, but yeah, one of those is guaranteed to leave, and the best you can do is get a compensatory third-round pick," Spielberger said. "Realistically, if you had the option, someone's probably giving up a second-round pick or better for Young, because No. 2 overall picks don't lose their value all that much. So, not picking it up limits their options a little bit."
That said, both Finlay and Spielberger believed the new rules are the reason that anyone who wasn't a "slam dunk" was declined and only 12 of 32 options on 2020 first-rounders were picked up this year.
"It's a big part of it – 12 is the fewest number ever picked up by five, because all the fringe ones leaned towards no," Spielberger said. "In the past, they leaned towards yes, because teams could release players after the fourth year with no financial penalty, but that's not the case now, so there's more financial risk."
Spielberger also weighed in on Sam Howell as QB1, the Commanders' win total O/U dropping after the draft, and how QB contracts may affect draft positions – take a listen to it all above!
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