One day before the NFL Draft gets underway, the big news of the day in DC was the report that the Commanders will not be exercising Chase Young’s fifth-year option – and when Craig Hoffman opened his show reacting to that news, he echoed what most on-air have already said about the situation.
“Here’s the thing: the Commanders have declined the option, and it is, to me, an absolute no-brainer. This is the correct decision, and I don’t understand how anyone makes an argument otherwise,” Craig said. “It comes down to very simple math: 17 and 18. The 17 is how much it cost to pick up the option, and the 18 is how much it will cost you to franchise tag him next year.”
For Craig, the fact that the team has also already committed a ton of money to Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne made the decision even more obvious, because there is “no responsible way, even with Sam Howell on the cheap, to spend over $20 million per on defensive linemen.”
“Two? Fine. Three? You’re pushing it. Four? Now you’re cutting from other places on the roster,” Craig said. “Could you do it? Sure. Is it responsible and smart? I would say no.”
Perhaps if Sam Howell works out and the Commanders have a couple good drafts, it will look like a bad move in hindsight – but with Montez Sweat also coming up on a contract decision, the team was sort of handcuffed.
“You’re 95 percent likely not keeping one of Chase Young or Montez Sweat in 2024,” Craig said. “You want them both now for this season, but beyond that, the best bet for this team is to play out this season, see who the better player is and what they’ll cost long-term, and if you do exactly what you did with Daron Payne, you’ll have the ability to control them next year.”
Hoffman invoked the Giants having “two guys and one tag” for Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley and how that worked out, and depending on how the Sweat/Young “competition” shakes out, the Commanders can do the same thing come February or March and then, perhaps, trade the other on the tag salary and get some draft capital.
“The worst-case scenario there? You are way over price on one year and don’t have the franchise tag to use on anyone else,” Craig said, “and you just have four really good football players in the prime of their careers and underpaid them most of the entire time. That’s a good place to be!”
It’s true that the Commanders do have a lot of key players coming up on contract years, but Craig says that’s just the nature of the league having to sometimes let good players walk to keep others - and they can sign Kam Curl to an extension this summer to maybe take care of the biggest issue otherwise.
"To me, that is the the better play than picking up the option, because then you run the risk of Chase Young being bad, however relative bad is," Craig said. "If he goes back to the undisciplined play he had in 2021 or doesn't look the same post-injury, and you're already committed to him for $17.5 million and you can't sign Sweat? You can't make the math work, and you lose Montez Sweat for nothing because you have no flexibility."
Craig admits he's betting on Chase Young having a big year and figuring it out, but in essence, what today did, in his eyes, was this: "It took the risk off the table of overpaying a guy you might not want here next year."
Follow The Hoffman Show on Twitter: @CraigHoffman & @HoffmanShow
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