One of the biggest mistakes Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has made during his tenure as GM was trading a 2023 second-round pick for wide receiver Chase Claypool.
Claypool, who hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2023, was recently invited for a tryout during the Green Bay Packers’ rookie minicamp.
“The #Packers will have former Steelers and Bears WR Chase Claypool at their rookie minicamp for a tryout,” NFL insider Ari Meirov tweeted. “Claypool last played in 2023.”
“Green Bay once had an interest in trading for Chase Claypool,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter quoted on Meirov’s post.
Former Bears Bust Chase Claypool Given Opportunity By Packers Ahead of NFL Season
GettyChase Claypool #10 of the Chicago Bears warms up before a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.
The Packers actually offered their second-round pick as well back in 2022 for Claypool, yet the Steelers opted to trade him to the Bears because they believed it would end up being the better pick (they were right, unfortunately).
Trading for Claypool has been one of the worst decisions that Poles has made as GM, and he’s using that as a learning experience.
“I think Chase is going to learn from this situation, we all will, and I wish him luck moving forward throughout his career,” Poles said. “You’re always disappointed in this situation, and it’s definitely something I take ownership of,” Poles added.
Fast forward to 2026, and Poles has drafted Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, and now Zavion Thomas.
Claypool last played in 2023.
Bears Give Blunt Reality on Zavion Thomas Role in Year 1
It was an extremely bold move to draft Thomas in the third round, considering many analysts projected him to be an undrafted free agent. And the Poles is not holding back his feelings when it comes to what Thomas’ role is going to look like as a rookie.
“So, this is a tough system,” Poles said on April 24th. “It’s going to be a challenge for him to break through with Kalif, but, again, we’re going to open that competition up for all these guys coming in. I think we feel really good about the return ability that he has. And then he’ll be in with the rest of the guys to learn the offense. How does he do that? How fast does he come along? You all have talked to our receivers; it’s a challenging system. So, maybe the role starts small and grows over time. But I don’t want to put a cap on that. If he comes in and downloads fast and he’s up and running, then we’ll see what happens.”
But when it comes to how head coach Ben Johnson feels about Thomas, he’s excited to bring him into the mix.
“This guy is going to be a weapon,” Bears assistant director of college scouting Francis St. Paul said. “This is one of the guys that Ben, when he saw the tape, started doing his little rocking and you could tell he was really excited about him.”
Even if Thomas doesn’t have a huge role during his rookie year, there’s no doubt that he’ll be a better investment than Claypool was.
Former Bears Bust Given Opportunity By Packers Ahead of NFL Season