This offseason, the Detroit Lions will look for pass rushing help, whether through free agency or trade. and/or during the draft. No stone should be left unturned after Aidan Hutchinson led the squad in sacks previous season despite missing less than five games due to a fractured leg.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Matt Bowen released his list of the top-50 free agents for 2025, along with a team match for each. Of fact, the Lions were named the greatest fit for a specific player in a position of need (edge rusher).
Chase Young, the former Defensive Rookie of the Year, is No. 39 in Bowen’s rankings.
“This is a fun one. Detroit coach Dan Campbell might team Young with Aidan Hutchinson off the edge. Young recorded 5.5 sacks for the Saints in 2024, and his 46 pressures matched for 11th in the league. “He’d be a low-risk signing with potential.”
Lions named the best free agent fit for Chase Young.
As Bowen mentioned, Young spent the previous season with the New Orleans Saints. With Hutchinson out, he was regarded as a potential trade deadline target for the Lions. He was also linked to the Lions around the 2023 deadline (and earlier).
Young was drafted second overall by Washington in 2020 and won Defensive Rookie of the Year, but he suffered a ruptured ACL in 2021 and played only 12 games in 2021 and 2022 combined. The San Francisco 49ers did make the move to acquire him at the 2023 trade deadline, but it’s safe to say they didn’t get what they wanted after giving up a third-round choice.
Young appeared in all 17 games for the Saints in 2024, and his 66 quarterback pressures (per Pro Football Focus) matched him for 12th among edge rushers.
Young will be 26 in April, and the premium for pass rushers raises his projected market value. Spotrac estimates his market value at $17.5 million per year, with a predicted four-year contract of $70 million. Cap expert Josh Queipo predicts a three-year, $45 million contract for Young. Of course, there is a disparity between what your market value is regarded to be and what you can acquire on the open market.
Using the preceding instances, committing to Young for numerous years at $15 or $17.5 million per year eliminates practically all of the upside associated with signing him. Of course, it increases the inherent negative risk.
One or two years at $10 million per year should be more in Young’s wheelhouse, provided the Lions are interested in him.
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