{"id":222208,"date":"2025-03-12T09:30:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T13:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=222208"},"modified":"2025-03-12T07:40:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T11:40:05","slug":"chase-young-sends-message-after-saints-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/03\/12\/chase-young-sends-message-after-saints-extension\/","title":{"rendered":"Chase Young Sends 3-Word Message After Saints Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After a strong start to the 2024 season, the New Orleans Saints faltered down the stretch as their poor depth could not overcome a seemingly endless barrage of injuries. Despite missing the playoffs and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/02\/12\/eagles-offensive-coordinator-kellen-moore-departs-for-the-saints\/\" target=\"_self\">hiring a new head coach in Kellen Moore<\/a>, the Saints believe they can compete, and Chase Young is a big part of their future.<\/p>\n<p>Set to test the open market, New Orleans ensured he wouldn&#8217;t go anywhere by signing him to a three-year, $51 million that could reach $57 million if he hits certain incentives.<\/p>\n<p>After spending the 2024 season playing on a one-year deal, Chase Young quickly took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his gratitude.<\/p>\n<h2>Chase Young Sends 3-Word Message After Signing Massive Saints Extension<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Thank you God!&#8221; <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/youngchase907\/status\/1899276187861495866\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Young posted<\/a> on March 10th in reaction to his massive extension, quoting a post featuring a graphic of the pass rusher in a Saints uniform.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:y4gj6sg4mws3sf7yhilor4kd\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lk6gsac5h223\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreiaz2dx7x6rewhuq4winqcw6l3t5vvppm6tljzhexva66uoowwvuwq\" data-bluesky-embed-color-mode=\"system\">\n<p lang=\"en\">Chase Young reacts to his massive extension<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:y4gj6sg4mws3sf7yhilor4kd\/post\/3lk6gsac5h223?ref_src=embed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">[image or embed]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 David Latham (<a  href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:y4gj6sg4mws3sf7yhilor4kd?ref_src=embed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@lwos-nfl.bsky.social<\/a>) <a  href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:y4gj6sg4mws3sf7yhilor4kd\/post\/3lk6gsac5h223?ref_src=embed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 12, 2025 at 7:05 AM<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/static\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Following an up-and-down 2023, Chase Young signed a prove-it deal with the New Orleans Saints in 2024. Appearing in all 17 games, the former second-overall pick finished his season with 5.5 sacks, 31 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, 21 quarterback hits, one forced fumble, and a <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.pff.com\/nfl\/grades\/position\/ed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">66.4 PFF grade<\/a>, the 52nd-best mark out of 119 eligible players.<\/p>\n<h3>Chase Young&#8217;s Actual Vs Projected Contract<\/h3>\n<p>Three years and $51 million may sound like a lot for 5.5 sacks, but it&#8217;s actually in line with the projected value for Chase Young. The second-overall pick in the 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025-nfl-draft-profiles\/\" target=\"_self\">NFL Draft<\/a>, analysts across the league believed he was a generational prospect on the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/02\/04\/nfl-mock-draft-myles-garrett-trade-shakes-up-2025-nfl-draft\/\" target=\"_self\">same level as Myles Garrett<\/a>. While he never came close to reaching those heights, he has developed into a reliable player.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the start of free agency, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/nfl\/player\/market-value\/_\/id\/47595\/chase-young\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spotrac believed<\/a> Chase Young would receive a four-year, $70.2 million contract from the Saints or one of the other 31 teams. Instead, the pass rusher received a three-year deal, but the $17 million per season lined up with the projected $17.5 million AAV.<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.pff.com\/nfl\/free-agency?season=2025\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pro Football Focus<\/a>, meanwhile, thought Young would receive a two-year contract with a $17.5 million AAV. The Saints effectively split the difference by signing him to a three-year deal for $17 million per year.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Young signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Saints after he was traded at last year&#8217;s deadline from the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/washington-commanders\/\" target=\"_self\">Washington Commanders<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/49ers\/\" target=\"_self\">San Francisco 49ers<\/a>. In 2024, he was a top-20 edge defender in total quarterback pressures (66) and pressure rate (14.6%). He may not be the perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate he looked like as a prospect ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, but Young is still a high-end No. 2 edge rusher for any team in need.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Did Saints Hurt Divisional Rivals With Chase Young Extension?<\/h3>\n<p>The NFC South is one of the weakest divisions in football, and it&#8217;s anyone&#8217;s guess as to who comes out on top in 2025. While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a decent pass rush, the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons desperately need another edge defender or two. Carolina had the league&#8217;s worst defensive line last year, and they haven&#8217;t done enough to completely fix the unit. While the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/03\/10\/tershawn-wharton-signs-contract-carolina-panthers\/\" target=\"_self\">Tershawn Wharton signing<\/a> helps, this team must find another pass rusher, as Jadeveon Clowney had an underwhelming first season with the team.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons find themselves in a similar boat. While the offense has promising young players in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/02\/22\/michael-penix-jr-dynasty-outlook-for-young-falcons-quarterback\/\" target=\"_self\">quarterback Michael Penix<\/a>, wide receiver Drake London, and running back Bijan Robinson, they don&#8217;t have anyone capable of consistently getting after the quarterback. Matthew Judon couldn&#8217;t recapture his pre-injury form during his lone season with the Falcons, and someone like Chase Young could have been a big help. However, with the pass rusher returning to New Orleans, Atlanta must look elsewhere to fortify their defensive line.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: Stephen Lew &#8211; Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Orleans Saints edge defender Chase Young sent a strong message after signing a massive extension with the organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":222235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[5718,7661,7659],"class_list":["post-222208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chiefs","tag-chase-young","tag-panthers-featured","tag-saints-featured"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222208"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":222236,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222208\/revisions\/222236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}