The San Francisco 49ers are set to face off against the New Orleans Saints this Sunday and they will be doing so without some key players. The Saints will also be missing some players, too, as edge rusher Chase Young, a former Niner, has been ruled out.
Young has been dealing with a calf injury that also kept him out in Week 1. The Niners may have been looking forward to going up against Young and trying to exploit him since he did not have the greatest tenure in San Francisco back during the 2023 season.
The Niners traded for him that year after they had an ugly three-game losing skid following their electric 5-0 start to the season. They acquired Young during the bye week, and after that, they got very hot again, although Young was not as effective as they were hoping for, especially since they were pairing him with his former Ohio State teammate, Nick Bosa.
San Francisco brought him in to get after the quarterback, but Young had just 2.5 sacks in nine games after the trade, while he had five sacks in seven games as a member of the Washington Commanders earlier that season.
Then, in the playoffs there were some viral moments where Young was seemingly not going 100 percent on the field, and his effort became a talk point going into the Super Bowl. He looked better in the Super Bowl and even had a sack, but it was no surprise when the 49ers didn't bring him back in the offseason.
Instead, he signed a one-year contract with New Orleans in 2024 and had a decent season. In 17 games, he had 5.5 sacks and was rewarded in the offseason with a three-year, $51 million contract.
Thankfully, the Niners were able to benefit from his departure with compensatory draft picks.
That new contract is not off to the best start, given the pass-rusher's injury issues to begin this season. Considering the 49ers' familiarity with him, they surely would have liked the chance of going against him and exploiting whatever weaknesses or predictable tendencies he brings to the table.
Yet, with the Niners already missing quarterback Brock Purdy and tight end George Kittle, they probably aren't going to be too upset New Orleans is without one of its top pass-rushers, even if he is a shell of his former self.
Alas, the reunion will have to wait for some other time.