Steelers Trade for Chase Young of Commanders? 'Strong Interest' - Report

Chase Young had the fifth-year option on his rookie contract declined this offseason by the Commanders, leading to a mountain of trade speculation.

Rumors and speculation regarding a Chase Young trade? That stuff is everywhere, largely due of course to an injury history that caused the Washington Commanders to decline to pick up the talented defensive end's fifth-year option on his rookie contract. (The Budda Baker gossip is fun!)

But this one, if the report is to be believed, is something more than rumors and speculation, as the website Behind the Steel Curtain is citing "sources" as saying Pittsburgh is interested - "strongly interested" - in acquiring Young in trade.

The website cites the Steelers' recent penchant for aggressiveness when it comes to player acquisition while stating, "Sources inside the Steelers organization made it known the team has a strong interest in acquiring Washington Commanders former first-round draft pick Chase Young. ... The source stated, they’d have to get very creative to get Young and maneuver the cap hits so the team can still have enough room to head into the season."

The "cap hits" issue throws us off a bit; Young's contract calls for his cap hit in 2023 to be about $11 million, and the Steelers presently have about $16 million in space - and if they made a trade that reflected a true belief in the player, they would be wise to negotiate an extension immediately - and his cap hit would immediately be lowered.

Also an odd take to us: While there can be an attraction to getting the 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year on the cheap (nobody has really detailed what Washington might take in trade here), the Steelers presently feature edge pass-rushers T.J. Watt (a veteran All-Pro) and Alex Highsmith (a budding star) ... so we're not sure exactly how the Steelers would see adding another guy with a dubious injury history who even last year in nine games had only 1.5 sacks as a "strong" priority.

We do know that Washington - with a defensive line group of Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Montez Sweat - might not end up paying them all ... and Young right now figures to be the odd man out. That helps the Commanders exist as "open" to trade offers. So "strong interest"? If that's true, the phone call should be taken. We're just not convinced how "strong" any team's interest is in Young, given the present circumstances.

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