Brian Mitchell and JP Finlay were live on the air when word broke Wednesday afternoon that the Commanders will not exercise Chase Young’s fifth-year option, and as BMitch said when it broke: now, the onus is on Chase Young to prove the team wrong.
“They did what they felt was best for them, and Chase is going to have to come out now and play,” BMitch replied. “But, I’ll say this: if he goes out and plays very well, I predict they won’t be able to keep him, even with a franchise tag.”
“This should not be a surprise at this point when, over and over, Ron Rivera was pretty squirrelly about it,” JP shot back.
Finlay and Mitchell agreed that if both Young and Montez Sweat play well this year, one of them is going to be gone while the other gets paid – and if that happens, Mitchell is doubling down on Young being elsewhere.
“If I’m Chase Young, my mindset is I’m going to prove it to you all, and then I’m gonna get the hell away from you,” Mitchell said. “I don’t know how Chase will think, but right now, no matter what you feel, you have to be in a ‘show it’ mindset.”
And, BMitch doesn’t buy the idea that the Commanders can point to Daron Payne, who had a great year on his fifth-year option and ended up with a long-term deal only after the team franchise tagged him, and say this idea of “ball out and prove it” works.
“You did it with Daron Payne and you had to pay him – you can’t keep doing this, because if everyone balls out, you can’t pay everybody,” Brian said. “Ultimately, either you lie a guy or you don’t, and I don’t believe that players play better just because they’re in a contract year. I will never believe that; Payne hit his stride at the time most players usually do.”
JP noted that the Commanders do have a history of eventually getting deals done, but both he and Brian agree that this time, it seems like maybe they’re trying to “egg on” Young.
“This is more about the first half of 2021 than the injury and what we’ve seen since,” Finlay said. “The first half of 2021 was subpar.”
“The whole defense sucked in that first half,” BMitch shot back. “I wouldn’t blame it all on one person, but maybe they’re trying to pin it that way.”
Of course, there has been a change in position coach since then, so maybe that was another blip in a series of them in a bad system?
“He wasn’t playing well, and they fired that coach since and things have changed; ultimately, everyone blamed the coach, and I have to believe at this point that they weren’t getting the right tutelage,” Mitchell said. “But, they have the right to do what they did, and now, all Chase can do is put up or shut up.”
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