Young's rehab time is unknown but he's 'getting better every day' originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
For the first time since he tore his ACL against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10, Chase Young sat down for a press conference with local reporters. During his Monday appearance on Zoom, the second-year defensive end avoided committing to a strict timeline for his recovery but did touch on how he’s doing about two months after his injury.
“I feel real good,” Young said. “I feel like my knees are getting better every day. So, definitely making great progress.”
“Right now I’m just going to be where my feet are at,” he continued, borrowing one of Ron Rivera’s most-used phrases. “Just take things one day at a time and just try to attack it with my best, day in and day out.”
Even if it was virtually and only for a handful of minutes, it was refreshing to see Young again. His second year in the NFL didn’t match the production of his first — he admitted as much on Monday — but still, this is a guy that Washington is counting on in an enormous way. So, it was encouraging to know Young is heading in the right direction, regardless of how early it is.
As for the injury itself, Young explained that he’s faced more adverse things in his life away from the field. Yes, being forced to the sidelines was painful for him literally and figuratively, but he’s not all that worried about overcoming this particular obstacle.
“Trust me, I know that my knee can get back to 110%,” he said. “As long as it can get back to 110%, then that’s the only thing that I care about.”
Young did his best to stay in touch with his team after landing on injured reserve. Before games, he made a point of texting other players as well as Rivera motivational messages, often times including the line, “Get money.”
At that point of his presser, Young was asked to describe his relationship specifically with Rivera. Young’s response was all positive, which was notable, seeing as Rivera publicly criticized Young for being undisciplined in the first half of Washington’s schedule.
“Like I always say, he’s a dude,” Young said. “He’s always going to be 100% with you, straight shooter. That’s the type of guy I am. I feel like that’s why we do gel so well. I could go on and say more things about him but, he’s just a dude you get around and you’re just like, you feel good.”
Unfortunately for Young, he wasn’t able to be in the lineup for Washington’s post-bye turnaround, a stretch where the club won four-straight contests to get back to .500. Even so, he was really proud of what his peers were able to accomplish on that run.
“It was really just unbelievable,” he said.
Should Young’s rehab go smoothly over the coming months, he’ll hopefully put himself in a position where he can be a part of success in 2022. As nice as it was to catch up with him when he was at the podium, it’ll be better to witness him lining up on the edge come next season.