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Turns out, the Chicago Bears will have fourth-year wide receiver Chase Claypool available for the start of training camp after all.
According to the Bears’ official transaction wire for July 24, Claypool was removed from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list on Monday just one day after he originally landed on the list, dispelling worries about the 25-year-old’s health heading into camp.
Claypool was sidelined for all but the first week of OTAs with an undisclosed soft-tissue injury, but he appeared to be on the mend after footage emerged of him working out with quarterback Justin Fields and other teammates in Florida earlier in July. While his initial placement on the PUP list created concern that he was still ailing from his injury, he has now passed his physical and been cleared for the first practice on Wednesday.
The Bears are counting on Claypool to take a big leap for them in 2023 after trading away a second-round pick (No. 32 overall) to acquire him from the Pittsburgh Steelers at last season’s trade deadline. He was put in a tough position in 2022, getting thrown into Luke Getsy’s offense with little knowledge of the system and being forced to overcome injuries — both to him and Fields — that kept him from building chemistry.
With a full offseason under his belt, though, Claypool will now have an opportunity to become an impact player for the Bears offense in 2023 as one of three starters alongside new No. 1 receiver D.J. Moore (acquired in an offseason trade) and Darnell Mooney.
Chase Claypool’s Physicality Should Be Asset for Bears
Claypool has been a controversial topic among Bears fans since the end of the 2022 season. While many fans were initially thrilled about his acquisition, the excitement quickly dissipated as Claypool struggled to become a factor and the Bears skidded to a 3-14 finish. He nabbed just 14 catches for 140 yards over seven games, an agonizingly low amount of production for someone who cost the equivalent of a first-rounder.
Still, it is not difficult to understand why the Bears targeted Claypool in the first place. At 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, he is a big-bodied receiver who can win contested catches as well as use his size and physicality to dominate as a blocker — an essential trait for someone playing a key role in Getsy’s outside zone blocking scheme. He also possesses a deceptive amount of speed (4.42-second 40 time) that allows him to both slip behind the defense and create separation in one-on-one matchups.
Claypool was also shown he can be productive in the past. As a rookie in 2020, he made an impressive 62 receptions for 873 yards and nine touchdowns while serving as a primary pass-catcher target for now-retired veteran Ben Roethlisberger. He was much less of a red-zone threat in his second season in 2021, but he still caught about as many passes and finished with more than 850 yards for a second straight season.
Can Claypool put his uneven third season behind him in 2023 and justify the high cost the Bears surrendered to get him, though?
“I believe he will,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles told Bernstein & Holmes on 670 the Score in May. “I think there’s a track record, especially when he was in Pittsburgh, that leads you to believe he can be a high performer in this league and contribute.”
How Will Rookie Tyler Scott Fit Into Bears’ Rotation?
The trio of Moore, Mooney and Claypool has captured a bulk of the attention that has been paid to the Bears’ receiving corps over the past several months, but fourth-round rookie Tyler Scott might be the biggest wild card of the group heading into camp.
The Bears used their second of two fourth-round picks to add the speedy Cincinnati receiver to their arsenal back in April’s draft. Scott was a receiver that reminded Poles of Tyler Lockett, not just for his size but also because of his ball-tracking and big-play ability in the deep field that showed up on his tape. He also clocked a 4.44-second time in the 40-yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis back in March.
While Scott is still just a rookie, there is a good chance he could climb as high as the No. 4 receiver on the Bears’ depth chart with a strong first training camp. He played on the perimeter quite a bit with the Bearcats, but he projects to be an ideal weapon in the slot at the NFL level. The next step will be picking up where he left off in the spring and trying to outperform guys like Velus Jones Jr. and Dante Pettis in the preseason.
Scott could also be a candidate for either punt- or kick-returning duties in 2023. The Bears still have (some) faith in Jones after he showed growth toward the end of his rigid rookie season, but Scott has experience as a returner that dates back to when he was in high school. If he wants a Week 1 role, the return game might be where he earns it.
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