You've just got to love a mutual breakup, right? Since the season started, Chase Claypool clearly has not wanted to be a Chicago Bears wide reciever. He's been lazy on routes and entirely disengaged on the field.
Off the field, he also took to the media this week and claimed he feels he's being misused. That came after he observed his quarterback, Justin Fields, say something similar about coaching and game-planning, and have to backpedal 50 yards to try to undo his comments.
My guess? Claypool knew what he was doing with those comments. And as of Sunday morning, he got what he wanted.
Chase Claypool is on the trade block
According to Jordan Schultz, Bears general manager Ryan Poles is tossing Claypool in trade talks. The Bears want a fifth- or sixth-round pick in return for the possibly still-capable wide receiver.
Schultz reports that Poles has been active in calling teams. Given his inactive status ahead of the Week 5 game in Chicago, it looks as if a deal could be close, unless the Bears are simply holding him out to make sure he doesn't get injured and stop the momentum on a possible trade altogether.
Claypool, in his fourth NFL season, could still catch the eye of teams that think he has potential in a better culture. Though the receiver has not been named to a Pro Bowl team yet, he has been on the fringe in several seasons and has been catching passes from rookie or young quarterbacks the last two years. In 2020 and 2021 when Ben Roethlisberger was his QB, he averaged 55.9 yards per game (14.9 per reception) and scored 11 touchdowns across 31 games.
Claypool's attitude throughout this season has been perceived as miserable by some, though, and though one would think a stronger culture would help improve that, he's clearly not a player who can do much contributing to improving a team's culture.
