When Is Chase Young Coming Back for Washington Commanders?
By Peter Dewey
Washington Commanders star pass rusher Chase Young won’t be ready for the start of the 2022 NFL season after tearing his ACL in Week 9 of the 2021 campaign against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While this is bad news for Washington, a team that our own Iain MacMillan expects to struggle this season, it was expected, as Young was injured fairly deep into last season. The former No. 2 overall pick is too important of a piece for the Commanders’ future for them to even consider rushing him back in 2022.
Why is anyone surprised that Chase Young will miss the start of the season. Dude tore his ACL in like Week 10 last year. Not every knee injury repairs in 9 months
— Mark Phillips (@GoingCommander) August 23, 2022
With Washington’s Super Bowl odds sitting at +6000 at WynnBET and the team projected to win 7.5 games (Over -125/Under +115), losing Young for any period of time certainly hurts the team’s outlook in 2022.
That being said, we may have a better time frame for when Young could return following his placement on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List on Tuesday.
Latest Chase Young Injury Update
The Commanders placed Young on the PUP List on Tuesday, guaranteeing that he will miss at least the first four games of the 2022 season. The earliest he’d be eligible to return for the Commanders is on Oct. 9 against the Tennessee Titans.
The #Commanders have moved pass-rusher Chase Young to Reserve/PUP, meaning he’s out 4 games and potentially more. They’ll need him 100% healthy before he’s active.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 23, 2022
The Titans’ game may be an aggressive timeline based on how Commanders head coach Ron Rivera commented on Young’s injury recovery.
"As we go through this, it's hard to predict on recovery time," Rivera said Tuesday. "This injury is a little bit more severe than the average one is, and because of that, the timeline is a little bit longer. What is that timeline? I can't tell you."
While we don’t have an exact date for Young’s return, there will be signals that will show when he’s closer to getting back on the field. Once Young starts fully practicing with the team, Rivera and company will likely put a target date on his return to the field.
Chase Young Complete Injury History
Despite the 2022 season being just the third campaign of Young’s career, he has suffered a few injuries so far with Washington.
2020 Season: Grade 2 Groin Strain
In his rookie season, Young suffered a grade two groin strain against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3. He only ended up missing one game.
The injury didn’t slow Young down, as he went on to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, finishing with 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and 10 tackles for a loss.
2021 Season: Torn ACL and MCL in Right Knee
Obviously, the big injury is the torn ACL and MCL that Young suffered last season. He was in the midst of a bit of a down campaign in 2021, picking up just 1.5 sacks in nine games.
It’s unclear how many more games Young will end up missing, but he missed eight last season and will miss at least four in the 2022 campaign due to the injury.
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.