Sweat traded to the Bears, Young to the 49ers

[sdskinsfan2001]

Per John Keim:

Grade for the Commanders: A

I'm pleasantly surprised the Commanders recognized they ought to be dealing away players at the deadline rather than acquiring them, and that they chose Sweat to be the player to trade as opposed to Chase Young. In comparison to Sweat, Young appears to be a much better long-term asset. Young is almost three years younger and has a 25% pass rush win rate at edge this season, which ranks 11th-best. Not only is that three times as high as Sweat's PRWR at edge this year, but it's also significantly better than Sweat's best PRWR in any year.

By dealing Sweat now, the Commanders are gaining future resources, which they need. It also will be helpful in their negotiation with Young, who is in the last year of his rookie deal. Had they kept Sweat and Young, they would have only been able to franchise tag one of them. Now, the threat of the tag on Young is stronger, though cornerback Kendall Fuller is a pending free agent, too. Theoretically, the Commanders might have been able to let Sweat walk in free agency and gained a compensatory selection, but that pick would have been no better than a 2025 late third-rounder -- and even that would have been far from guaranteed. Washington ranks fourth in effective cap space in 2025, per Over The Cap, so it could be a big spender in free agency, thus possibly canceling out a compensatory pick.

The cherry on top here is that this is the Bears' second-round pick, so it will very likely be early in the round.