Bears WR ‘Isn’t Trending’ in Right Direction for 2023, Says Insider

The Chicago Bears are counting on their 2022 trade for wide receiver Chase Claypool to pay off for their offense in the upcoming 2023 season, but the latest insider report suggests there are doubts brewing among people at Halas Hall.

Earlier this week on ESPN 1000’s ‘Waddle & Silvy,’ co-host Marc Silverman revealed that “a few people inside [the Bears’] building” have been unhappy with the way that things have been “trending” with Claypool this offseason. He also clarified that it has been things both “on and off the field” that has Chicago’s staff concerned about him.

“I have heard from a few people inside that building that he is not somebody who is very self-motivated. There’s a long way to go. Chase Claypool can change the narrative,” Silverman said June 14. “All I can tell you is, it isn’t trending in a way that the Bears have wanted it to trend in this offseason.”

The Bears have remained optimistic about Claypool’s upside for their offense after a disastrous half-season in Chicago in 2022 saw him catch just 14 passes for 140 yards, but he missed three of the team’s four weeks of organized team activities (OTAs) over the past month — including veteran minicamp — due to an undisclosed injury. If there are issues extending beyond his health, though, it could be a much more troubling situation for the Bears, who are hoping to take a big step forward offensively in 2023.

“Chase Claypool is a guy that they have wanted to see some things from,” Silverman continued. “They have not been able to see those things from him, on and off the field. All those things don’t sound great for Claypool going into training camp on where they think he’s going to be.”

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Will Bears Come to Regret Chase Claypool Trade?

The Bears were not panicking about the Claypool trade when the 2022 season ended. Even though he had given up a second-round pick that essentially became a first-round pick (No. 32 overall since Miami forfeited their 2023 first-rounder), general manager Ryan Poles said he was “not blinking at that one at all” and felt comfortable he could improve with a full offseason to learn the playbook and build chemistry with Fields.

Will Poles still feel the same way if Claypool looks ill-prepared for camp, though?

The logic behind the Claypool trade made sense. Poles looked ahead to a disappointing class of free agent receivers and opted to make a trade for a young, big-bodied receiver with some good play on his resume in hopes it would pan out. The price was a little steep, but — according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter — the Green Bay Packers had also been making “aggressive attempts” to acquire Claypool at the deadline and offered a package of picks that included their own second-rounder, so it wasn’t an overpay for nothing.

Unfortunately, the potential for the trade to backfire is enormous. Claypool could still prove to be who the Bears believe he is and become a meaningful contributor for their offense in 2023, even if the rumors of a disappointing offseason are true. But if he fizzles out and departs in free agency quietly next offseason, it could go down as the biggest mistake in Poles’ tenure as Chicago’s general manager.

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Justin Fields Has Noted ‘Attitude’ Change in Claypool

While Silverman’s report about Claypool does indeed not sound great for the Bears, it is also contrary to what quarterback Justin Fields said about him earlier in the offseason.

“Chase has improved tremendously just from the end of last year to now,” Fields said on May 23. “Just see his work ethic, his attitude change, you can just he’s taken another step, so definitely excited for that. And we don’t even have [Darnell] Mooney right now in practice, so once we get him back, it’s gonna be awesome, so [I’m] very excited.”

Fields’ comments did come before Claypool was sidelined with his injury issues, but the message behind them certainly paints a different, more favorable picture of the former second-round receiver. Eberflus was also similarly complimentary of Claypool on the same day, saying he has noticed an improvement in his “comfort level” with the offense, particularly with his knowledge of “formations” and “route disciplines.”

Could Fields and Eberflus simply be talking up Claypool to encourage him? Sure, it’s possible. But given their praise was specifically centered around his “attitude” and knowledge of the offense, it raises questions about the validity of Silverman’s intel.

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