Washington trade Montez Sweat and Chase Young

The Commanders traded both starting DEs in Washington on Tuesday.

Here at UKHTTC, founder Christian Burt and regular contributor Andy Eckert discuss the exits of Montez Sweat and Chase Young and forecast the longer-term plans for the burgundy & gold.

First up, Andy

Where to begin? In a word, “Necessary”

Washington went into the year with Sweat in his final year and Chase in his because they declined the 5th year option. Now both are gone for some draft picks and what feels like new ownership’s first real stamp on the roster. So, let’s break down a few things here.

First: I am ok with both trades.

Fans here, and everywhere, have the tendency to overrate players on their teams. We follow them in camp and watch them every week, and then view them in this bubble that isn’t really accurate. That doesn’t mean either play isn’t good or at times, really good.

But nobody we traded was actually elite here. Neither changed the outcomes of games on a regular basis here. When they flashed, they really flashed. But let’s be realistic. I’m not bashing either. I’m not saying either guy sucks. I’m saying that I think what we got for these guys is fine. Maybe even a little low for Chase, but as I’ll say below “Whatever”.

The deals themselves: A second rounder for Sweat from Chicago. Good. If they extend him, best of luck to him and them. A second-round pick used by a new and improved front office for a rookie who will be on a 4-year deal works for me.

A third rounder for Young from San Francisco. Whatever.

Young has been a touchy subject since he got hurt and how long it took to come back. Would I have wanted more for him, considering where he was drafted? Yes.

But facts again: it is an expiring deal and a day two pick with a nailed on better GM/Front Office getting a piece they need

Let’s be clear here. Rivera did not want to make either of these moves. I imagine if he could have, he would have traded picks for talent to make some desperate run at the playoffs this year, thinking it would mean he remains HC next year. I don’t believe he’s on the same page as ownership. I don’t even think they are reading from the same book.

Post-trade there was a source attributed to an addition by subtraction regarding Chase. This is a more complicated thing for me. If I’m ownership, I want to know what “team source” said that, so they could be fired tonight. I don’t care if it’s true. It’s petty, and if he balls out for the 49rs, then what? This team that is in the bottom 5 to 10 in most categories of Defense and the coaches here are wrong or right or both.

After the Chicago defeat, DC Jack Del Rio should have been fired that night.

After the Giants game, Ron and Jack should have been fired that night. These guys are done if they ever got started here. I get that ownership doesn’t want to look reactionary or if Ron was told he’d get the year, they went back on their word. But let’s be real here. Average coaching would have equalled a win or two more this year. Just average.

Nobody would say that it would be the wrong move if the coaches and the front office guys were let go tonight. It would be getting a head start on the offseason that can come soon enough now.

The Harris group took ownership a week before camp. It’s a tough situation when you come in with your analytics and sports science and the guy running the team is the equivalent of a rotary phone. This upcoming offseason will be their first and I imagine they will hit the ground running.

If I had one complaint today, it’s that they didn’t trade way more for future picks or younger players or whatever. Expiring contracts, Gibson, Jacoby, whoever. Should have moved move. But whatever, it’s a start.

Final thoughts from Christian.

The trades bring to a halt the ‘master-plan’ of drafting multiple first round picks on the DL who were projected carry the burgundy & gold to the promised land.

In 2023 as we approach mid-season, this spectacularly did not happen, with the Commanders ranked way down the defensive rankings. Whilst not playing individually poorly, neither Montez Sweat or Chase Young looked like guys you would wish to pay absolute top dollar for as game-wrecking studs in the Bosa or Garrett elite category.

There is a certain irony that Washington were looking to recreate a ‘San Francisco model’ and now they have traded the guy who was projected to be a face of the franchise sack and pressure machine to the 49rs.

At the risk of repeating past blog thoughts, for me a solid Front Office was not truly in place in 2020. Rivera was hired, essentially for stability/culture change, into a cosy long-term deal. All critical eyes were on Dan Snyder rather than the new HC and his W/L column.

It was against that backdrop that the then Redskins drafted Chase Young; for me the safest choice but not the best scouted player when the team held the second overall pick of the draft. I believe the 49rs have taken a calculated gamble by essentially loaning Chase for the rest of the season and I would not be surprised if he lands on a third NFL team by ’24 in his short career so far, rather than the 49rs chasing his signature for a LTD on the West Coast.

I’ll be honest here. The cheerleader antics of Chase Young never really done it for me, and, of the two trades, I have more affinity towards Montez.

The Sweat trade to Chicago is an interesting one in that the Bears will be giving up a higher-end second rounder, which will equate to around 10 or so spots from where Sweat was originally picked (26 in the 2019 Draft).

Chicago has a very decent salary cap for 2024 and I would expect that they will be looking to a LTD for Montez or the tag in ’24.

There is a strongly likelihood of Montez getting paid than Young, but Young might still end up with a ring this season! The world of American Football, eh.

Josh Harris made a first signature move off the field last week in hiring analytics expert, Eugene Shen. Although I believe Shen officially is employed from 5th November, I am 100% certain his sales pitch for the job would have detailed the necessary tough decisions regarding trades and cap ammunition required for a surefire GM hire in 2024 and beyond.

Washington might, at last, have begun the long overdue process of hiring smarter guys in the building. Holding five picks in the first three rounds plus a very decent salary cap budget plus the likelihood of entering 2024 with the continuation of a young cheap-but-talented QB in Sam Howell will make the Commanders an enticing spot for an exciting hire.

Short-term pain for the longer-term gain, folks. And to be honest, at best, I would have had the presence of Sweat and Young equating to maybe, at best, two additional wins in ’23.

The short-term pain will actually be minimal, the future might well be bright.