Lions named best free agency fit for former Defensive Rookie of the Year
The Lions need pass rush help, and they’ve been tied (again) to a former Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The Detroit Lions will be on the hunt for pass rushing help this offseason, be it in free agency, maybe via trade? and/or in the draft. No stones should be left unturned, after Aidan Hutchinson led the team in sacks last season despite playing less than five full games due to a broken leg.
On Tuesday ESPN’s Matt Bowen put out his list of the top-50 free agents for 2025, with a team fit for each. Of course the Lions were named the best fit for a particular player at a position of need (edge rusher).
No. 39 in Bowen’s ranking is former Defensive Rookie of the Year Chase Young.
“Here’s a fun one. Detroit coach Dan Campbell could add Young to pair with Aidan Hutchinson off the edge. Young notched 5.5 sacks with the Saints in 2024, and his 46 pressures tied for 11th most in the league. He’d be a low-risk signing with upside.”
Lions named best free agency fit for Chase Young
As Bowen noted, Young spent this past season with the New Orleans Saints. He was mentioned as a potential target for the Lions at the trade deadline with Hutchinson out. He was also tied to the Lions at the 2023 deadline (and before).
After being drafted No. 2 overall by Washington in 2020 and winning Defensive Rookie of the Year, Young suffered at torn ACL in 2021 and played a total of 12 games over the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The San Francisco 49ers did make the move to acquire him at the 2023 trade deadline, but it’s fair to say they didn’t get what they expected after surrendering a third-round pick.
Young played all 17 games for the Saints in 2024, and his 66 quarterback pressures (according to Pro Football Focus) was tied for the 12th-most among edge rushers.
Young will turn 26 in April, and the premium placed on pass rushers lifts his perceived market value. Spotrac has his market value at $17.5 million per year, with a projected four-year, $70 million contract. Cap expert Josh Queipo projects a three-year, $45 million deal for Young. Of course there is a difference in what your market value is perceived to be and actually being able to get that on the open market.
Committing multiple years at, using the above examples, $15 or $17.5 million per to Young removes almost all the upside that could be attached to signing him. And it of course adds the inherent downside risk.
One or two years at $10 million or so per year should be more in the Lions’ wheelhouse for Young, assuming they’ll have interest in him.
