It’s been a heck of a year for the Chicago Bears. Frustrations are boiling over after an 0-3 start with a team that looks on the brink of total collapse. Jobs are on the line, their defensive coordinator resigned for unclear reasons, and QB Justin Fields may no longer be the future.
Enter Chase Claypool. Traded over from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Bears last year, it’s looked like one of GM Ryan Poles’ worst moves. Since acquiring him, the Bears have yet to win a game and Claypool has had minimal impact. Bears’ fans have been critical of his effort and Claypool apologized to the team for his lackluster effort following the team’s Week One loss.
Claypool took a clear shot at the Bears’ coaching staff on Friday. Asked if the team was using him correctly, Claypool sat in silence for a moment before offering a clear answer.
“No,” he said when asked by reporter Courtney Cronin if the Bears were using him the best way.
Yikes.
Expanding on it in a quote that didn’t appear in the tweet, Claypool said he’s been “trying to adapt to the new system and my new role in the system.”
Through three games, Claypool has just four catches for 51 yards, though he did catch his first touchdown as a Bear. Chicago moved him back to an outside receiver, a change after the Steelers switched him to the slot for the 2023 season. Still, it’s made little difference and the Bears’ offense has been one of the worst in football. Since being acquired, Claypool has just 18 catches in ten games. He’s caught only 43 percent of his targets.
Almost regardless of what happens to rookie CB Joey Porter Jr., the GM Omar Khan has appeared to crush this deal. Chicago gave up a second rounder for Claypool which turned into the 32nd pick of the draft, which the Steelers used to select Porter. Though his role so far has been limited to just dime packages, Porter has played well and provided more value in three games than Claypool has throughout his Bears’ tenure.
Claypool’s time in Chicago looks just about done. A free agent at the end of this season, there’s almost no chance he returns, though it’s likely to be a new regime running the show. Claypool may be critical of the coaches but he’s done nothing to help his own cause. As usual, he can’t get out of his own way. The Bears have plenty of problems but Claypool has no one to blame but himself for the way the last three years have gone.
Earlier in the season, Fox Sports’ insider Jay Glazer reported the Bears were considering trading Claypool if his play did not improve. It’s possible they try to move him but at this point, he has almost no value. An underperforming receiver with a bad attitude on an expiring contract.
With those comments and his poor play and effort, it’s possible the team makes him inactive for Week Four, something they were considering in Week Two.
