Chase Claypool had a dark cloud hanging over him from the moment he joined the Chicago Bears. Plenty of people in Pittsburgh were eager to run him out of town, citing his recent productivity downturn and rumors of work ethic concerns. It didn’t help the Bears paid a high price to get him, sending their 2nd round pick this year to the Steelers. That pick became 32nd overall. Then when Claypool struggled during his two months with the team, it cemented the trade as by far the worst of the Ryan Poles era.
Things went from bad to worse when Marc Silverman of Waddle & Silvy reported rumblings from Halas Hall that some people were frustrated with the way Claypool was trending lately. He wasn’t displaying the necessary go-getter attitude they wanted. Needless to say, that got tons of national attention, fueling the narrative around the young receiver. Former Bears scout Greg Gabriel decided to set the record straight on Windy City Gridiron, revealing some details from his own sources.
I don’t usually like to talk about private conversations I have with people in the League, but in this case, I feel I need to. Earlier this spring, I had a long conversation with Ryan Poles. We talked about several things, including free agency, the Draft, what he felt the team needed, and of course the Chase Claypool trade.
Poles told me he realized that many fans and media were unhappy with the trade because he had to give up what turned out to be the 32nd pick. He also said that the results of the trade have not been seen yet and that he fully expects Claypool to have a big year. He added, “If I had the chance to do the trade all over, it would take me about five seconds to say yes.”
Does that sound like a General Manager with control over the 53-man roster being disgruntled with Chase Claypool? Hardly!
The truth is there haven’t been any signs of frustration publicly with Claypool. Justin Fields and Matt Eberflus both praised him for the work he put in this off-season to prepare for the season. As to his struggles last year, Gabriel had an answer for that too.
Within an hour of that trade being made, I got a call from a friend of mine in the League who works for the Rams. As you know, the Rams and Bears’ offensive schemes are very similar regarding terminology and concepts. This friend of mine told me, “Don’t expect much out of Claypool this year. The offense is a bitch to learn, especially for receivers. He’ll show what he can do next year.”
What that person said is true. Davante Adams only had 997 yards and five touchdowns in his first year in this scheme. The next season, he went for 1,374 yards and 18 touchdowns. It is not a plug-and-play offense. There are intricacies to it that other systems don’t have, especially in the run game. Having all that information thrown at him upon arrival must’ve been challenging. Claypool seemed to gain some momentum after a few weeks but then injured his knee. So things never got a chance to click.
Those shackles are off now. He’s had a full off-season to absorb the system and has worked constantly with Fields to build chemistry on every route. Despite some soft tissue injuries, he’s expected to be ready for training camp next month. If Chase Claypool truly didn’t care, he wouldn’t be throwing fits on the sideline whenever the team struggled. He cares. The Bears are prepared to ride this out with him. If he can deliver a strong season, it would be extra satisfying after what he’s been through.
