ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Rookie edge rusher Chase Young could miss Washington’s game Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, and perhaps more, after suffering a groin injury in a Week 3 loss at Cleveland.
Young, the No. 2 overall pick, did not practice Wednesday. He instead spent time working out to the side and riding a stationary bicycle.
NFL Network reported Washington considers Young week to week with a “moderate groin strain.” But defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said it was too early to make a decision about Young’s status for the Ravens game.
“We’ll see how the week goes with Chase,” said Del Rio, who ran Wednesday’s practice for head coach Ron Rivera while Rivera received treatment for a form of skin cancer.
“To me, we’ve got time. To make declarations early in the week doesn’t serve anyone’s purpose. So we’ll see how that goes as we progress through the week. Beyond that, you’re getting the next guys up and ready to go.”
Young left in the second quarter of the 34-20 loss to the Browns. After the game, he tweeted that his injury was “nothing major tho (sic) … I’ll be back.”
Young has so far lived up to the expectations of being the No. 2 pick. He has 2 1/2 sacks, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble in his first two games.
“Chase is a high-level-energy guy out there,” Rivera said Sunday. “He’s a guy who helps spark the organization.”
It marks the second day of injury news for Washington’s defensive linemen. On Tuesday, it placed 2019 sack leader Matt Ioannidis on injured reserve with a bicep tear that took the defensive tackle out of the Browns game.
Ioannidis began the season with a 1 1/2-sack performance against Philadelphia after finishing the past two seasons with 8 1/2 and 7 1/2 sacks, respectively.
If Young isn’t available to play against the Ravens, veteran Ryan Kerrigan will be expected to take on an increased role, as well as some younger reserves.
One candidate is rookie defensive lineman James Smith-Williams, a seventh-round draft pick who was inactive in Week 3 and played a handful of snaps in the two games before that.
Tackle Morgan Moses (groin), linebacker Cole Holcomb (knee), defensive end Ryan Anderson (ankle) and receivers Dontrelle Inman (wrist) and Steven Sims Jr. (toe) also missed practice Wednesday.
___
More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
