The up-and-coming Detroit Lions have been mentioned as a possible landing spot for one of the game’s top young defensive players.
Dan Campbell’s Lions are viewed as a team on the rise after finishing 9-8 last season, good for second in the NFC North. 2022 marked Detroit’s first winning season in five years, and they only missed out on the playoffs via tiebreaker to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Lions, for all we know, are just one or two players away from emerging as a bonafide Super Bowl contender. And perhaps one of those pieces is residing back in the eastern part of the country.
CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin listed several big-named players who are trade candidates with the draft now over. Benjamin included Washington Commanders’ star defensive end Chase Young on that list, and he even mentioned the Lions as a potential suitor:
“Young seemed like he was going to be a cornerstone player for the Commanders when he was taken No. 2 overall out of Ohio State and then made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Injuries have dogged him since then, though, and Washington declined to pick up his fifth-year option. Might another team be willing to give up something of value and hope it can tap into his immense upside?”
The Commanders surprised many earlier this offseason when they declined to pick up the fifth-year option on the No. 2 selection of the 2020 NFL Draft. They now risk losing Young for nothing in 2024 free agency, but if he turns in another strong year? The front office will have to be ready to pay young top dollar.
Young won Defensive rookie of the Year honors in 2020 after recording 7.5 sacks, four pass defensed and four forced fumbles. He was limited to 1.5 sacks in nine games as a sophomore before suffering a season-ending ACL tear.
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Young returned late in the 2022 season, appearing in three games. If the Commanders end up shopping Young ahead of the deadline, a team that’s ready to make serious noise like the Lions should be keen on his services.
