Disgruntled Chicago Bears wide receiver Chase Claypool is making waves following comments about his usage on offense.
Claypool was asked recently whether he believes he is being utilized correctly in the Bears’ offense. His response was a simple “no.”
It led to Chicago head coach Matt Eberflus making the former Notre Dame standout a healthy inactive for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. This comes after Claypool, 25, caught just four passes for 51 yards and a touchdown over the first three games of the season.
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It will now lead to increased trade chatter involving the still-young receiver less than a calendar year after Chicago acquired him in a blockbuster deal involving the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 10 games with the Bears, Claypool caught a mere 18 passes for 191 yards. This comes after a solid start to his career with Pittsburgh.
- Chase Claypool stats (2020-21): 121 receptions, 1,733 yards, 11 TD, 57% catch rate
Some team will take a chance that Claypool can revert to earlier-career form ahead of the Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline. Here, we look at four ideal trade scenarios.
Carolina Panthers get Bryce Young another target
Recent reports indicate that the Panthers are in the market for a starter-caliber wide receiver. Whether Claypool qualifies as that is up for debate. But acquiring more weapons for struggling rookie No. 1 pick Bryce Young makes a ton of sense.
Carolina headed into Week 4 averaging a mere 18 points per game. For his part, Young was averaging less than 150 passing yards in two starts. While Adam Thielen has played well, there is very little behind him on the depth chart after Carolina dealt away Pro Bowler D.J. Moore. Claypool would come cheap from both a draft pick and salary ($2.99 million base in 2023).
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Houston Texans pick up Chase Claypool
Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is off to an historic start to his career. He continues to make sweet music with starting wide receivers Tank Dell and Nico Collins. In no way does this mean that the former Ohio State star doesn’t need more help.
There really isn’t much behind Dell, Collins and veteran Robert Woods at wide receiver in Houston. Why not go out there and see if Claypool can help Stroud grow even more moving forward? It just makes too much sense given what Chicago’s likely asking price will be.
New York Giants acquire help for Daniel Jones
New York was one of the teams that had talks with Pittsburgh about Claypool last season. But once the Bears offered up their second-round pick (ended up being No. 32 overall) it was too rich for the Giants’ blood.
What we do know is that Daniel Jones needs more help at wide receiver. Parris Campbell heads into Monday night with the most catches among Giants wide receivers (11 through three games). Though, those 11 receptions have resulted in a mere 47 yards. Darius Slayton is second with just nine receptions.
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Buffalo Bills add veteran wide receiver
Claypool would make sense for Buffalo in that he can play the slot, which has been a need for the Bills over the past few seasons. Deonte Hardy (seven receptions, 28 yards) and Khalil Shakir (two receptions, 16 yards) just have not cut it thus far this season.
The idea for general manager Brandon Beane would be for Claypool to come in and act as a big target for strong-armed quarterback Josh Allen. It could actually be a match made in heaven.