Chase Young shows up for beginning of Commanders offseason program

As the team mulls whether to pick up his fifth-year option, Chase Young was in attendance Monday for the start of the Washington Commanders’ offseason program, a source with knowledge of the situation said. 

The NFL limits teams to holding conditioning workouts and meetings during the early stages of its offseason program. Though the sessions are voluntary until mandatory minicamp in June, Commanders coach Ron Rivera had previously indicated his desire to see Young attend the workouts so that the team can evaluate the pass rusher’s health. 

Young’s attendance, too, has been a subject of focus ever since the former Defensive Rookie of the Year skipped the sessions in 2021 to film commercials. Last year, Young attended most of the sessions — though he did not show up for one week because he was rehabbing his surgically repaired knee at a facility in Colorado. Young appeared in only three games last season after tearing his ACL in November 2021. 

The Commanders must decide by May 2 whether to pick up Young’s fifth-year option, which would guarantee the pass rusher a salary of nearly $17.5 million for 2024. If the team declines the option, Young will enter the final year of his rookie-scale contract in 2023. 

“That’s the thing that will drive a big part of the conversation,” Rivera said about Young’s health. “As we continue to work through this and talk about it, it will be about seeing him and watching him. … We’ll continue to work through these things — talks to the doctors, talk to the strainers, strength and medical — and just kind of get a feel for where he is.”