Things are trending towards the New Orleans Saints having Chase Young for the first time this season against the New England Patriots. The edge rusher has missed the first five games of his second season in New Orleans with a calf injury that’s infuriated the fan base.
That frustration may finally be coming to an end. Young was limited in practice on Wednesday, a stark difference from last week when he was ruled out of Week 5 on Wednesday. This is the first time Young has seen the practice field since suffering the injury during practice ahead of the season opener.
This is the first step, and Kellen Moore said there's optimism around a return this week. Feels like the first time optimism has been used in reference to this situation. That's a telling sign. If Young does return, there may or may not be a snap count depending on how the week transpires.
Indecisiveness and money had Saints fans in a frenzy about Chase Young
The most frustrating aspects about Young’s injury was his timeline to return and the contract he was just paid. Calling Young the Saints’ prized move feels wrong because he was already on the team. Giving him that extension should still be seen as a splash move.
Whenever a player gets a new contract, in comes the expectations. The base level expectation is for the player to see the field. Young's deal was already criticized this offseason, and he hasn't had the chance to prove the Saints right because of the injury.
Young missing time may have been easier for fans to digest if it wasn't initially presented as something to not worry about. Young has missed five games and each week the question of if he would play lingered. If Young was on injured reserve from the onset, anger would have lessened.
The truth is the Saints probably thought Young would be able to bounce back quicker. Calf injuries can be tricky, and the same way his status was week by week to the fans, that's was the case in the building. We've seen calf injuries turn into torn achilles. As frustrating as it is to be in limbo, the Saints taking a precautionary approach was the smartest call.
Young was still limited on Thursday. Still it's a step in the right direction. It's the first substantial update beyond just hearing the team is monitoring the situation. The odds of the Saints seeing their top pass rusher on the field have risen. It feels like a debut will happen next week at the latest.