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One of the biggest questions facing the Chicago Bears is what kind of production can they expect from Chase Claypool this season? Earlier this week, the wide receiver offered a direct answer from his own mouth.
Claypool spoke to reporters on Wednesday, July 28. He addressed, among other things, reports that the Bears have been dissatisfied with his work ethic during the offseason.
“It’s the biggest year of my life, and I understand that,” Claypool said. “If anybody thinks my work ethic isn’t matching that, they’re deeply mistaken.”
The wideout is entering the fourth and final season of his four-year, $6.6 million rookie contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next March.
Chase Claypool Touts Efforts to Play Through Injury in 2022 as Evidence of Work Ethic, Commitment to Bears
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GettyWide receiver Chase Claypool of the Chicago Bears runs with the football during an NFL game against the Miami Dolphins in November 2022.
Claypool has been in something of a downward spiral over the last season. He began his career with a standout rookie campaign as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which he caught 62 passes for 873 yards and nine touchdowns. Since then the wideout has regressed, putting up solid, albeit lesser, numbers in 2021 and following that effort up with career-lows across the board last season. Claypool made just 46 catches for 451 yards and one score in 15 games, per Pro Football Reference.
What makes the situation worse for Claypool in Chicago is that the Bears traded what became the first pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft (No. 32 overall) to acquire him from the Steelers at last year’s trade deadline. He made just 14 catches for 140 yards in seven games for Chicago while dealing with injury issues.
“Maybe people weren’t happy with how I dealt with the offseason, but that’s only the perception that was given to them and not the reality that’s true,” Claypool told the media on Wednesday. “I remember almost blowing my knee out against the [Green Bay] Packers and being done for the game and kind of pleading to be put back in. [I put] the knee brace back on, went back in and tried to help my team win.”
Bears WR Chase Claypool Has Dealt With Nagging Injuries During Offseason
GettyQuarterback Justin Fields (right) of the Chicago Bears hands the ball off to wide receiver Chase Claypool (left) during an NFL game against the Miami Dolphins in November 2022.
Claypool missed time during OTAs earlier this summer with an undisclosed injury issue and started training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. However, he returned quickly from that injury designation and has been working regularly to build chemistry with quarterback Justin Fields.
“If there’s any questions on how much I’m willing to do to help this team win, there shouldn’t be,” Claypool continued on Wednesday. “I think that I’m doing everything I can to be as healthy as possible.”
The wideout will need to do more than be healthy — he will need to be productive in 2023 if he hopes to earn a lucrative second contract, either with the Bears or another organization. That may be more difficult than previously thought, however, as the return of a healthy Darnell Mooney and the acquisition of D.J. Moore from the Carolina Panthers will likely push Claypool into the third receiver slot.
Claypool’s value, trade and otherwise, is at an all-time low due to his recent injury concerns, the bad press he’s received coming out of Chicago and the worst season of what has been a statistically regressive career through three years in the NFL.
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