The Pittsburgh Steelers traded wide receiver Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears on November 1, 2022, in exchange for a 2023 second-round draft pick. With the Bears finishing last in the NFL, that second-round pick has essentially become a first-round pick and leaves the Steelers sitting pretty on draft day.
From every angle, it appears that the Steelers absolutely robbed the Bears as Claypool failed to produce and the draft pick rose higher and higher. Now that the season is over, there are rumbles that the Bears will trade Claypool. The Bleav Podcast Network combined cities to talk about the Claypool trade and his future in the windy city. The Bleav In Steelers host Mark Bergin invited the Bleav in Chicago host Joey Christopoulos to join him.
Steelers Won Now But Will Chicago Have the Last Laugh?
Bergin and Christopoulous agree that the Steelers appear to have come out ahead in the trade. However, because of the injuries to both Claypool and Bears quarterback Justin Fields, it is difficult to totally assess.
"For the Chicago Bears, at this time, it's an incomplete. When he came on for the Bears the only thing they were letting him do was run go routes, comebacks and bubble screens. That was it. Honestly, those three things that they were letting him do they only let him run it maybe 10-12 times a game. They were not playing him every single snap," Christopoulous said.
He goes on to say that Chicago uses their receivers differently than some other teams. They expect their receivers to do a lot of blocking, which is something Claypool has needed to work on. In addition, the Bears had a weak offensive line so the offense was not able to develop a strong passing game.
The suggestion is to give Claypool the off-season and see if he improves. He comes up for a contract at the end of 2023 and with another year they should have a better idea.
Christopoulos says that the Bears specifically brought Claypool in because they needed players to support their young QB.
"I think the reason why we made this trade was to try and give Justin some more people around him, not to help him succeed tomorrow but try and give us some evidence to say this is our guy. Justin Fields we know with the legs, we know with the head, we know with the heart but we don't know what the arm is. A lot of people are criticizing him for his arm. Can he pass the ball? We need to give him more opportunities to provide more evidence to close the case on that," Christopoulous said.
Both Bergin and Christopoulos feel that Chicago should keep him another year. The Bears have not made a secret of the fact that they are re-building, basically building the plane in the air. Claypool can be one potential component of that. There is a strong possibility that he can find success with the Bears if he can get out of his own way.
"Claypool has all the tools, the size, the speed, everything you'd want in a receiver. For him, it's between the ears. If he can put it together I think he has all the ability in the world. He made headlines saying he's a top-three receiver, I don't think he's anywhere near that but he does have that big play ability."
Claypool has become a target for frustrated Bears fans, they want to see him traded. This is similar to his situation in Pittsburgh, fans got angry over what they felt were immature antics including music during practice, celebrating after a play, etc.
The play is literally and proverbially in Claypool's court. He has the opportunity to show Chicago that he can be "that guy" for their offense. If he and Fields can connect and develop some chemistry he could wind up giving Chicago the last laugh.
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