The New Orleans Saints have made their first major move of the 2025 offseason, and it's keeping around a big name.
The Saints came to terms on a 3-year contract extension with Chase Young. The deal is worth up to $57 million, according to reports.
Young joined the Saints on an incentive-laden 1-year deal ahead of the 2024 season as he worked back from offseason neck surgery. Young, who had been labeled injury prone after being drafted No. 2 overall by Washington in 2020, beat his projected timeline and appeared in all 17 games. He rolled up 31 tackles, 8 TFLs and 5.5 sacks while also logging 21 quarterback hits. Young was often disruptive, though the stats didn't always reflect that.
Young had a simple, but telling reaction on social media: "Thank you God!"
The 25-year-old will now shift into a key role in new Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley's scheme, which has trended to be a hybrid 3-4 scheme in his previous stops. Young has played primarily as a 4-3 defensive end throughout his NFL career, but did align in sets resembling an outside linebacker role during his stop with the 49ers in 2023.
Related
Some added value to Young's contract comes in the form of $9 million in dead money that would've come due when his previous contract voided on the first day of the new league year (March 12). The extension allows the Saints to push off that bill into future seasons.
The deal for Young is a big one, but at $17 million clocks in at 26th among current salaries for defensive linemen. The deal is dwarfed by record-setting deals signed by Maxx Crosby ($35 million per year) and Myles Garrett ($40 million per year) earlier this month.
New Orleans has largely been quiet at the start of this year's free agency cycle, with the other big splash being a trade for former Patriots DT Davon Godchaux. Cornerback Paulson Adebo also landed a contract with the Giants.