When the Washington Commanders activated defensive end Chase Young from the reserve/physically unable to perform list last month, many thought it would be a matter of days before Young was active for a game.
Head coach Ron Rivera initially sounded positive Young would be on the field soon. However, it was defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio who pumped the breaks on a speedy Young return.
“He’s able to do some things,” Del Rio said last month. “I wouldn’t call him full speed at this point in everything he’s doing, but he’s working at it. He’s giving it everything he has, and when he is right, we’re going to play him. But until he is right, we’re not going to play him.”
Those comments were made on Nov. 10. How does Del Rio think Young is progressing now?
“He’s been pretty steady with me,” Del Rio said when asked if he’d seen a different approach from Young in the past few weeks. “We have a good relationship. We communicate often and I just want him to approach it like we’re talking about, and not really concern himself with the clutter, the outside noise. Any of that. Don’t feel any of that. Just work hard every day. Get the conditioning right. Make sure you’re on top of things and when it’s time, we’ll go.”
Earlier this week, Rivera felt good about Young’s chances for Sunday. Of course, we’ve heard that before, but some believe Young’s return always made more sense after the bye week.
Washington’s defensive line has been outstanding this season. All of the pieces have finally come together to form the dominant unit many believed when the Commanders spent four consecutive picks on the defensive line.
So Rivera, Del Rio and Young all understand, there is less pressure on Young once he does return, allowing coaches to ease him back in a specific role.
What’s Del Rio’s vision for Young when he returns?
“Yeah, I think we’ll wanna be wise about that,” Del Rio said. “We’ll address that when it’s time. But right now we’re just working. Again, when we get that green light, we’ll unleash him.”
For once, Washington’s training staff, coaching staff and the player all appear to be on the same page as it pertains to a return from serious injury.