Little has gone right for the Chicago Bears this season, but that’s obvious after an 0-3 start. You can include Chase Claypool as part of the problem, as he’s already been under the microscope due to a lack of effort in Chicago’s season-opening 38-20 loss to Green Bay.
But Claypool has since been spoken to about his play, which involved a threat that he’d be inactive on gameday, or even traded if he didn’t show improvement. Instead of being less involved in the team’s offense, Claypool has actually seen an increase in the percentage of snaps since Week 1, going from 78 percent to 79, and most recently 86 percent in Week 3.
Yet, it hasn’t led to a great increase in production.
After being held catchless on two targets in Week 1, Claypool was removed from the starting lineup yet received eight targets in Week 2, hauling in three receptions for 36 yards and his scored his first touchdown since joining the Bears following last season’s trade. Claypool was re-inserted as a starter and caught one of four targets for 15 yards in Week 3.
In total, Claypool has caught 18 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown in 10 games with the Bears, an average of just 19.1 yards per game. This is a steep drop-off from his time in Pittsburgh where he never averaged fewer than 38.9 yards per game before being traded for the 32nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft (Joey Porter Jr.)
On Friday, Claypool was asked if he feels he’s been put in the best position to showcase what he can do as a member of the Bears. Claypool reportedly took a ‘seven-second pause’ before answering “No.”
Here is the full exchange from ESPN’s Bears reporter Courtney Cronin.
Claypool was careful about what he said and didn’t want to blame the Bears for a diminished production, at least compared to his early days in Pittsburgh. But he also was quick to point out that he wouldn’t say the Bears’ organization is ideal for him. In other words, it doesn’t sound like Claypool has much of an issue with how his role has developed and he’s not upset with anyone about having his pass-catching opportunities reduced.
Still, that answer about him saying he doesn’t feel he’s been put in the best position to succeed is interesting and also hard to argue based on the numbers thus far. He’ll have 14 more games to change the narrative, and it begins this Sunday against a winless Denver Broncos team that’s just allowed 70 points to Miami.
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