Are The Bears Already Fed Up With Chase Claypool? Sure Sounds Like It
Ryan Poles made several sound decisions through his first two off-season as Chicago Bears GM. Jaquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon, and Braxton Jones look like solid players from his first draft. D.J. Moore flashed his playmaker skills in the opener, while 1st round pick Darnell Wright overcame early struggles to turn in a solid performance. However, Poles might be learning a harsh lesson about the dangers of the NFL trade market thanks to the ongoing developments regarding Chase Claypool.
The Bears sent a 2nd round pick to Pittsburgh for the big wide receiver. Since arriving, he has accomplished little. His first impression last season was mostly underwhelming. Then he missed lots of training camp with more injury setbacks, knocking him out of the preseason. Everything culminated in his ugly effort against Green Bay. Not only did he fail to make a single catch, but he put forth a rough effort as a blocker.
Head coach Matt Eberflus didn’t beat around the bush. He said a meeting was held within 24 hours of the game to discuss Claypool’s effort.
“Yeah, we already visited about that. I think it was maybe Sunday after the game or Monday it was, but, yeah, again, you all saw the plays that … and again, the perimeter blocking needed to improve for all of us. And we’re gonna get that and work hard to get that done.”
It didn’t stop there.
While Eberflus didn’t throw Claypool under the bus directly, he also didn’t go out of his way to defend the receiver when asked if there were discussions about benching him.
“We’re looking at all possibilities right now. I’m not going to talk about who’s going to be up or down for the game right now, for obvious reasons. We’re looking at all things to make our team better — Who’s going to be up and who’s going to be down in terms of the active roster.”
If you wanted a further idea of how little the Bears thought of Claypool’s value, check out this comment from Justin Fields about the decision to make Equanimeous St. Brown inactive.
“He’s a great run-blocker, knows the playbook like the back of his hand, great perimeter blocker. He’s a leader in the WR room. But on him being inactive, I don’t make those calls.”
Chase Claypool is proving an antithesis to what the Bears seek.
What are the first two points of the H.I.T.S principle? Hustle and intensity. Claypool has too many instances of showing neither during games. People can hammer Poles about the trade all day. It doesn’t matter anymore. The choice was made. Losing a 2nd round pick sucks. However, the Bears still have six picks in the first two rounds over the next two years. It’s not like they’re devoid of resources. Poles took a calculated risk trying to help his young quarterback. It hasn’t worked. The worst thing the Bears can do is compound one mistake with another.
St. Brown might not have the same natural receiving skills, but he has a far better commitment to football. He plays hard on every snap. Chase Claypool can’t make the same claim. That lucrative contract extension he’s seeking seems further away by the day. The Bears don’t seem like they’re going to tolerate his inconsistency much longer. If he’s not fully invested in what they’re doing, they’d rather give his snaps to somebody else.