The Bears had big plans for Chase Claypool when they acquired the wide receiver at the 2022 NFL trade deadline. These dreams never came true and the relationship quickly failed.
After issues with deployment, attitude and buy-in, the Bears called it quits last Friday by trading Claypool to the Miami Dolphins.
On Wednesday, Claypool appeared in front of the media for the first time as a dolphin in Miami. The fourth-year wide receiver cited the Bears’ losing streak as a reason the situation upset him.
“I think when you lose a lot of games in a row, of course you get frustrated,” Claypool said, via The Miami Herald. “I think this is new for everyone. I’m sure from top to bottom. I think I’m just excited to get some wins and stuff like that. I think that’s completely natural. And once you start winning, of course it becomes less frustrating.”
The loss — and Claypool’s inability to channel that frustration positively — was something that Bears tight end Cole Kmet, a close friend of Claypool’s, also hinted at when asked why the relationship deteriorated.
“I think it can be hard for the guys to deal with a loss,” Kmet said after the Bears’ loss in Week 4. “It was hard for me to deal with, but you have to find ways to get back to work to go and clear your head every day. It’s hard – look, I haven’t won a game in almost a year, and trust me. I take it home and it hurts, man, it hurts. It’s hard to deal with, but we all need to be adults and be able to move on and trust the established process. That can be hard to do sometimes when things don’t go your way and maybe you don’t achieve the goals you want and you don’t win, all those things kind of add up and you get frustrated, but you have that You have to be a man, be an adult and be able to reset your mind every week and just try to improve yourself individually every day.”
As an outfielder for the Bears, Claypool never won a game. The Bears ended their 14-game losing streak last Thursday while Claypool was completely inactive. On Friday, the Bears traded Claypool and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Dolphins for a 2025 sixth-round pick.
According to reports, the Bears have been trying to make things work with Claypool. General manager Ryan Poles, head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy all viewed Claypool, with his size and physicality, as an ideal complement to No. 1 wide receiver DJ Moore.
When he was healthy at the start of camp, Claypool looked the part. He showed improved chemistry with quarterback Justin Fields and was a weapon of choice in third-down and red zone situations.
But the Claypool the Bears expected when they sent the No. 32 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers turned out to be just a theoretical weapon.
Claypool’s season got off to a rocky start as he was widely criticized for his poor performance during the Bears’ Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers. This led to a meeting with Eberflus and Poles, where Claypool wanted to clarify expectations and the role they envisioned for him.
Claypool’s performance was better in Week 2, but he aired his displeasure with the staff in a media duel the week before the Bears’ Week 4 game against the Denver Broncos, saying he did not believe the staff used him the best Place to be successful.
When asked how the Bears’ staff could better utilize him, Claypool declined to offer his opinion.
“You know, I’ll let them decide. I’m not going to give any hints,” Claypool said in his final media session before the Bears sent him home. “That’s their job to decide, and I’ll just do what they tell me.”
In his 10 career games with the Bears, Claypool caught just 18 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown.
The Bears were confident they would get the best out of Claypool after an offseason to digest the playbook and build chemistry with Fields. The fact that the wide receiver is also in a contract year was another reason to expect the best version of Claypool.
For some reason, the Bears never got the receiver they envisioned.
Now both parties are leaving behind a failed experiment.
“I really don’t regret it,” Eberflus said after the Bears traded Claypool. “I just think we tried to bring a guy here that had more skill and for whatever reason – I won’t go into the reasons – it just didn’t work out. We wish him the best.”
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