Getty Wide receiver Chase Claypool of the Chicago Bears.
Chase Claypool clearly has no future left with the Chicago Bears, but trading him for any kind of value is going to be tricky.
Chicago rendered Claypool inactive then asked the wide receiver to stay home for its Week-4 contest against the Denver Broncos. The decision came after Claypool made negative comments about the coaching staff, blaming the scheme for the 4 catches, 51 yards and 1 TD he produced through three games to start the year.
Claypool’s trade value has plummeted and the Bears’ leverage has followed given that the wideout has performed so poorly since joining the fold, and that Chicago clearly has zero interest in Claypool even being around the team, let alone playing for it. He caught only 14 passes for 140 yards across seven appearances with the Bears in 2022.
Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus appeared on the Tuesday, October 3 edition of SB Nation’s 2nd City Gridiron podcast and declared that Claypool’s value is, at best, a 2025 seventh-round pick. However, there are a couple of legitimate suitors potentially in the market for an athletic receiver from whom the Bears might able to squeeze a bit more.
Chargers, Panthers May Have Interest in Trading with Bears for Chase Claypool
GettyChicago Bears wide receiver Chase Claypool has likely played his last snap with the team.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report named Claypool to his trade block big board on Wednesday and highlighted the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Chargers as organizations that may have immediate interest in his services.
While Claypool hasn’t been productive these past two seasons, he topped 800 receiving yards in each of his first two years with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Teams should be willing to take a flier on the 25-year-old if the price is low enough.
The Panthers could consider buying low on Claypool since he’s still young enough to possibly be a long-term target for [Bryce] Young. Acquiring him now would give Carolina the rest of the season to evaluate Claypool’s upside. The Los Angeles Chargers might also be in the receiver market after losing Mike Williams to a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3.
Claypool is currently playing in a contract year and is bound for free agency next March.
Bears Diminished Own Trade Leverage by Mishandling Chase Claypool’s Situation
GettyHead coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears.
Head coach Matt Eberflus initially told the media that it was Claypool’s choice to stay home from Sunday’s game against the Broncos. A team spokesperson later offered a clarifying statement that the organization asked Claypool to stay home.
Then, on Monday, Eberflus held another press conference, in which he spoke to what happened last week and sent a clear message on the wideout’s future with the team.
“We told him he’d be inactive on Saturday,” Eberflus told reporters. “This morning, we informed him that he’s not gonna be here this week for the game as well.”
Chicago (0-4) is playing on short rest and will travel to square off with the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football.
The Bears doled out their second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Steelers ahead of last year’s trade deadline in order to acquire Claypool — an asset that eventually became the No. 32 overall selection.
Considering how the relationship has deteriorated since then — including the organization’s mismanagement of Claypool’s situation over recent days and the general lack of production from the receiver since the deal was made — the Claypool trade will go down as one of the worst deals in recent Bears’ history.
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Bears WR Chase Claypool’s Trade Value, Top Destinations Revealed