The Washington Commanders won’t have one of their key men on the field for the season opener.
Star DE Chase Young won’t be able to face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, according to Adam Schefter on ESPN.
Chase Young has been ruled out for Washington’s home opener. But he was cleared for contact in practice and is not expected to miss much time.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 9, 2023
Schefter adds that he did partake in practice, so this is not expected to be a long-term issue.
The former No. 2 pick reportedly suffered a ‘stinger’ during the preseason and was subsequently limited in practice.
Needless to say, this will be a big issue for the Commanders, although they will have defensive linemen Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat, and Daron Payne.
Nonetheless, they will also be without DE Efe Obada and DT Phidarian Mathis, who were placed on injured reserve.
According to reports, there’s optimism about Young’s status for Week 3.
Commanders DE Chase Young will not play in Sunday's regular season opener and is not expected back until at least Week 3 with a neck injury, multiple sources tell @TheAthletic.
Details: https://t.co/PY1MUBsX7q
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) September 9, 2023
Team doctors have laid out a plan to gradually increase his workload in practice in the hope of having him on the field a couple of weeks from now.
The former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year missed all but the final three games of last season after suffering a major knee injury midway through the 2021 campaign.
The Commanders didn’t sign him to a contract extension in the offseason, and they expected that would motivate him to be back to his best this year.
While injuries cannot be prevented and he shouldn’t be blamed for them, especially this time, this is definitely not looking good for a guy who entered the league as a potential driving force but has missed plenty of time to start his career.
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