Washington Commanders DE Chase Young to Be Traded After Montez Sweat Deal?

The Washington Commanders have already made one splash by trading defensive end Montez Sweat, and they could be making another Chase Young-sized one as well.

The NFL trade deadline is often more rumor than execution but the Washington Commanders executed arguably the biggest deal of the year already by sending defensive end Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears.

In that deal, the Commanders are getting a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft that projects currently within the top 40 and gives the team three picks inside the top 50.

But they may not be done as Washington is now fielding calls from teams about their other defensive end, Chase Young.

"Sources: The #Commanders may not be done," tweeted Ian Rapoport of NFL Network just before 1 p.m. ET. "They are now taking calls on former No. 2 pick Chase Young. Could they trade both Montez Sweat and Young?"

The Washington Commanders have already dealt defensive end Montez Sweat (left) and now could be preparing to trade Chase Young (right) / Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The short answer to Rapoport's question is, yes, they could absolutely trade both.

Early rumors ahead of Week 8 had the Bears calling the Commanders inquiring about the availability of Young, not Sweat.

The dominant rumor around Sweat was linked to the Atlanta Falcons who were said to have offered a third-round pick in 2024 that would become a second-round pick if the player and team agreed to an extension. 

Now, with Sweat headed to the NFC North, the NFC South-leading Falcons could be the front-runner to pivot and offer a hard third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft for Young.

If such a trade were executed it would project Washington to have the 11th, 37th (from Chicago), 42nd, 73rd, and 83rd picks in the top 100 of next year's draft.

Five picks in the first 100 selections is enough to put any team on the fast track to rebuilding even with the loss of two first-round defensive ends.

Getting draft capital back for 2024 is much better than waiting until 2025 for compensatory picks awarded after Sweat and Young potentially signed elsewhere, and trading for them means the Commanders' own free-agent moves won't impact the status of the selections.