The San Francisco 49ers are getting set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
Kyle Shanahan’s Niners are in a great place both mentally and physically as they’ll enter next Sunday’s showdown in Las Vegas at close to full strength.
Having said that, it’s not 100% sunshine and rainbows in Santa Clara.
The entire football world witnessed the concerning lack of effort Niners defensive end Chase Young displayed during one of the biggest plays of this past Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.
Bro Chase Young getting benched. π€¦π»ββοΈ pic.twitter.com/T5MJykSzqd
— DJ (@dj_case) January 30, 2024
Young made George Pickens look like Pete Rose with that effort.
For him to “pursue” Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs like that with a Super Bowl berth on the line is inexplicable.
Now, there’s an unconfirmed report that Shanahan is considering benching Young…
“Young has made a habit of taking several plays off and the 49ers have started to view him as a liability,” the report stated.
π‘ππͺ π₯ππ£π’π₯π§:
The #49ers will consider benching DE Chase Young for their Super Bowl matchup vs the #ChiefsYoung has made a habit of taking several plays off and the 49ers have started to view him as a liability. pic.twitter.com/BLKrD8FSRL
— NFL Notifications (@NFLNotify) January 29, 2024
Young, who earned the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2020, was acquired by the 49ers via a trade from the Washington Commanders in November.
At the time, he was seen as a significant addition to an already formidable defense.
However, his performance has failed to meet expectations to say the least.
2nd week in a row doing this too lol pic.twitter.com/DLnabJ6vVW
— Chase King (@CKSportsss) January 29, 2024
The decision by the Commanders to trade Young instead of picking up his fifth-year option now appears to be a smart one.
Coming out of Ohio State, Young was projected to be a generational talent. While still effective when he wants to be, on the whole his career has been a massive disappointment thus far.
I honestly think #ChaseYoung would prefer losing and the season being over cause the only thing he cares about is getting to the offseason healthy so he can sign a new dealβ¦ Thatβs the only thing that makes sense for why this dude is doing shit like this and not even trying β¦β¦ pic.twitter.com/aGRW0MDkLt
— Flave (@MyOwnFlave) January 30, 2024
Despite the report, the chances of Shanahan actually benching Young for the Super Bowl are very slim.
There are some people – including Torrey Smith – who believe Young is going to rise to the occasion against the Chiefs…
"Chase Young is gonna have the game that they traded (for) him for…" π£οΈ@TorreySmithWR believes #49ers DE Chase Young will make a BIG impact in #SBLVIII@heykayadams pic.twitter.com/oIKEj9cG4O
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) January 30, 2024
After all, it’s not like he takes EVERY play off…
Some of the heat chase young has had the past 24 hours hasn't been justified. He had some rough plays, also made some nice plays. pic.twitter.com/j6Ujv3Qbkj
— JonnydelsFA (@jonnydels) January 29, 2024
Do you believe the report that Shanahan is considering benching Young?
Looking at the big picture, what are your overall thoughts on him as a player?
As far as the Super Bowl, who do you think is going to win???