Why would Chase do
what?
(There are multiple swirling rumors in this thread, and "this" isn't clear.)
But as to why Chase would introduce a new card that works differently,
if it doesn't really replace (but just adds to) the existing Freedom: Amex recently introduced
Amex Blue Cash Everyday, which despite the name has nothing to do with the other Everyday cards that earn Membership Rewards points. The Blue Cash Everyday earns Rewards Dollars instead.
But Amex did not introduce that to
replace the Amex Everyday card, they introduced it to
complement the Amex Everday card ("complement" in the sense of marketing to people with other needs, not "complement" in the same person's wallet).
So until we see whether this card truly replaces the existing Freedom for
everyone but current cardholders, or whether all that it replaces is the
#1 marketing position within branches, we won't know close a parallel it is. The blog that reported this mutters something about "in branches", so it makes me wonder whether that blog jumped to conclusions by misreading what that meant.