49ers' Chase Young returns to Washington with plenty motivated against former team
Chase Young is returning to Washington with the San Francisco 49ers exactly two months since the hometown team he was briefly the face of the franchise for dealt him out West for essentially the same price it would have received by letting him walk in free agency.
Young called it "just another game." His old Commanders teammates know better.
"He's going to come out here and try to give his best," receiver Terry McLaurin said. "He's going to be super juiced up to be back home and playing against his former team and everything."
Young and the NFC-leading Niners (11-4) don't need any extra motivation Sunday: They can wrap up the conference's top seed with a win and losses this weekend by Detroit and Philadelphia and are coming off a humbling home defeat to AFC-best Baltimore. But it certainly doesn't hurt that this is a homecoming for the 2020 No. 2 pick and a couple of other Washington alumni, coach Kyle Shanahan and left tackle Trent Williams.
"It's going to be fun," Young said. "At the end of the day, it's just playing ball. What happens between those white lines will determine the outcome."
If a groin injury doesn't sideline Williams, it'll be his first game at FedEx Field as a visitor, much like Young, who was dealt for a third-round pick amid reports the Commanders staff found he had bad habits and was undisciplined and the organization viewed trading him as "addition by subtraction."
Coach Ron Rivera did not deny those reports, saying instead: "I'm not sure why it got out. That's probably a bigger question. If you're not going to put your name to it, then please don't do it. It's not fair. It's not fair to the player as far as those things are concerned."
Young's fall from Defensive Rookie of the Year to out of favor in Washington came after he skipped voluntary offseason workouts going into his second pro season, which he started slowly before tearing the ACL in his right knee, and a lengthy rehab and decline in progression that contributed to the Commanders declining his fifth-year option.
He has 2 1/2 sacks since the trade, and fellow 49ers pass rusher and former Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa said Young "continues to get better."
"This week is a huge one for him," Bosa said. "He's already pretty hyped up about it and excited, so we're going to try and play our best game for him."
BOUNCE-BACK PURDY
Niners quarterback Brock Purdy is coming off the worst game of his short career, throwing four interceptions in the loss to the Ravens before leaving the game early with a stinger. Despite the rough outing, Purdy still leads the NFL with a 112.2 passer rating and 9.7 yards per attempt.
"He's just got to move forward and treat it as a game," Shanahan said. "I know it's always tough when you have four picks, no touchdowns, especially when you have four of them by two minutes into the third quarter. But, you also look into all of them, you talk to him about why they happened, what happened. When you look in that game, it's not a hard thing for him to bounce back from and get to work this week."
COMMANDERS QB CHANGE
Jacoby Brissett is in at quarterback for Washington (4-11), replacing season-long starter Sam Howell, who leads the league with 17 interceptions and was pulled from the past two games. Brissett, a 31-year-old journeyman, is set to make his 49th NFL start.
"Just excited to go make the most of this opportunity and go out there and get a chance to play football," Brissett said.
Brissett, who signed a $10 million contract for this season expecting to get a chance to compete for the top job, is on track to be the ninth QB to start for Washington in four seasons since Rivera took over.
MIGHTY McCAFFREY
Christian McCaffrey keeps piling up numbers at an impressive pace for the 49ers. He had 131 yards from scrimmage last week to set a franchise record with his eighth consecutive game with at least 100.
He also scored his 21st touchdown to tie Raheem Mostert for the NFL lead and move within two of Jerry Rice's team record sent in the strike-shortened 1987 season. He's 68 yards shy of having the Niners' fifth season of at least 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
And he's just one of San Francisco's options on the league's second-best offense.
"They got a lot of weapons," Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen said. "You know the ball's going to get out quick. They're a well-coached team (with) phenomenal play-calling."