The Green Bay Packers are hosting a controversial former Chicago Bears wide receiver for a roster tryout at their 2026 NFL rookie minicamp this weekend.
According to the team’s minicamp roster, veteran wide receiver Chase Claypool is in attendance for their two-day rookie minicamp as a tryout player and will attempt to earn a spot on the Packers’ 90-man offseason roster as part of his NFL comeback.
Claypool had an impressive first two seasons in the league with the Pittsburgh Steelers, catching 121 passes for 1,733 yards and 11 touchdowns, but his career took a downward turn in 2022 when he fell out of favor in Pittsburgh and wound up in Chicago via trade.
Claypool caught just 18 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown in 10 games for the Bears before they hurriedly traded him to the Miami Dolphins in October 2023. He went on to make four receptions for 26 yards for the Dolphins, but he has not played a single snap in the NFL since the end of the 2023 season despite a brief stint in Buffalo.
The Packers have eight wide receivers signed to their 90-man roster, but Claypool may appeal to them as an experienced veteran who can help drive competition for the depth spots in their receiving rotation during their 2026 NFL draft camp later this year.
The Packers will also have four other wide receivers — including two already on their roster in Isaiah Neyor and Will Sheppard — at their rookie minicamp from May 1-2.
Chase Claypool Proved a Disaster for Bears in 2023
The Bears had boldly traded their second-round pick (which became the No. 32 overall selection) to the Steelers in exchange for Claypool at the trade deadline, hoping that he would provide them with a reliable passing target for then-quarterback Justin Fields.
Instead, Claypool brought with him attitude, effort and buy-in issues that resulted in him flunking out of Chicago early in the 2023 season. He loafed through their season opener against the Packers, subsequently apologizing to his teammates for his actions. He then talked his way out of the locker room, criticizing the Bears’ coaching staff after Week 3’s loss to the point that the team kicked him out until it found a trade partner.
Ultimately, the Bears shipped Claypool to the Dolphins after Week 5’s win, giving up a seventh-round pick along with him in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round selection.
Packers Dodged a Bullet With Chase Claypool Trade
While Packers fans probably had their fun laughing at the Bears’ misfortunes when the situation with Claypool unraveled, some might forget how close they came to making the same mistake with the problematic wide receiver during the same window of time.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers made “aggressive attempts” to acquire Claypool from the Steelers at the 2022 NFL trade deadline, offering their second-round selection along with a late-round pick in an attempt to outbid the Bears for their target.
“The Steelers believed, however, that the Packers are capable of turning around their season even without Claypool, according to sources, and a playoff push by Green Bay would decrease the value of the picks Pittsburgh would have received in the trade,” Schefter wrote in November 2022. “So the Steelers ultimately opted for the Bears’ offer of a second-round pick, even though Green Bay offered more picks than Chicago.”
All told, the Steelers chose the correct offer. They received the No. 32 overall selection in the 2023 draft, which would have been No. 33 if not for the Dolphins losing their first-round selection due to their tampering efforts with Hall of Famer Tom Brady. They then selected cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who has grown into a star for their defense.
Meanwhile, the Packers used their second-round selection (No. 42) on tight end Luke Musgrave and then picked up wide receiver Jayden Reed later in the second round at No. 50 with the pick that they received from the Las Vegas Raiders for Davante Adams.
An easy win for the Packers, in hindsight.
Packers Bring in Controversial Ex-Bears Wide Receiver for Tryout