The 49ers were active Tuesday just before the NFL's 1 p.m. PT trade deadline.
San Francisco agreed to a trade with the Washington Commanders to acquire former No. 2 overall pick Chase Young, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan. NFL insider Jay Glazer was first to report the news.
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Chan added that San Francisco dealt a 2024 third-round draft pick to Washington for Young, who must pass a physical for the deal to officially be finalized.
The third-round draft pick the 49ers traded to Washington is the special compensatory pick they received when former director of player personnel Ran Carthon became the Tennessee Titans' general manager and when the Houston Texans hired former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as their new head coach, a source told Maiocco.
Washington declined to pick up Young's fifth-year option in the offseason due to lingering concerns about the pass rusher's right knee after he tore his ACL and ruptured the patellar tendon in 2021. He will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Per The Athletic's David Lombardi, Young will cost the 49ers about $561,000 this year.
After missing the 2023 season opener with a neck injury, Young has five sacks in seven games this season. In 34 games over his four seasons with Washington, Young had 14 sacks, 90 tackles and 6 forced fumbles (3 recoveries).
San Francisco 49ers
In 2020, Young produced 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and returned a fumble for a touchdown across 15 games and was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
He is another weapon for the 49ers' underperforming pass rush, which ranks 18th in the NFL with 18 sacks through eight games.
Young will reunite with his former Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa, who starred for the Buckeyes together in 2017 and '18. Bosa, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, only has three sacks this season after notching 9.5 sacks through his first eight games last year.
This was the Commanders' second trade ahead of the deadline. They also sent defensive end Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears for a 2024 second-round pick on Tuesday morning.