The Pittsburgh Steelers will welcome Chase Claypool back to training camp on Aug. 15. Only nobody will actually get to see it because it won’t be open to the public. The Steelers will host the Buffalo Bills for a joint practice, held in a closed setting in Acrisure Stadium, and at least as of now, Claypool is a member of the Bills.
It’s unfortunate that the Steelers and Bills are holding a closed practice, though it will likely be a glorified walkthrough. Joint practices are always popular, even if they rarely seem as productive as intended. There is a reason the Steelers haven’t conducted one in a number of years.
As for Chase Claypool, he is on his third team since the Steelers traded him in November 2022 for a second-round pick. They used that pick to draft CB Joey Porter Jr., while Claypool hasn’t had nearly the same career.
After a very impressive rookie season with the Steelers in 2020, Claypool declined in his second season. The Chicago Bears still offered them their second-round pick, however, and they pounced on it at the trade deadline.
Less than a full year later, the Bears traded Claypool to the Miami Dolphins as part of a late-round pick swap, getting a sixth back while dishing out a seventh. He caught four passes for 26 yards and did not earn another contract after the season ended.
Finally through with the rookie contract he signed with the Steelers, Claypool sat unsigned for the first month and a half of free agency this spring. He finally signed with the Bills in May shortly after the 2024 NFL Draft, which he called “an amazing opportunity”. But is it?
Claypool only signed a Veteran Salary Benefit contract that did not yield the maximum signing bonus. He only received a $25,000 signing bonus and has a $75,000 roster bonus if he makes the team. In other words, he has no guarantees of making the team. Looking at the Bills’ roster, I’m not sure he would make it—there or with the Steelers.
The Steelers selected Chase Claypool in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he caught 62 passes for 873 yards and 9 touchdowns (plus two rushing touchdowns). In the three years since then, he has 113 receptions for 1,388 yards and four touchdowns, plus 155 rushing yards.
It just so happens that Claypool only experienced Saint Vincent College once, in 2022. The Steelers did not travel for training camp in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, practicing in the stadium. As a result, he is already quite familiar with what it’s like to practice inside of Acrisure Stadium, with no fans, so that will not be anything new.
The Steelers have not seen Claypool since trading him two years ago, nor have their fans. While they can’t watch him in a training camp setting, the Steelers will host the Bills for a preseason game, and they will get their first up-close look at him in another uniform then.
