The Bears were chasing value and instead are dealing with a sunk cost.
Chicago was hoping that Chase Claypool would continue his ascent and give Justin Fields a veritable top receiver on an offense devoid of weapons. Well, hope doesn't pay the bills, nor does it catch touchdowns.
Claypool hasn't quite hit the (somewhat limited) highs as a Bears receiver as he did with the Steelers, leading to some questions as to what exactly went wrong.
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There's not one answer: a broken offense, an underachieving quarterback and Claypool's own inefficiencies have led to a major deterioration of a once-promising partnership. Now, Claypool is the subject of trade rumors and may play for his third NFL team in two years if someone opts to take a chance on the 25-year-old.
With the Bears seemingly ready to bite the bullet and ship Claypool out of the "Second City," here's a look back at what they gave up for him and why.
What did the Bears trade for Chase Claypool?
In a deal with the Steelers, the Bears gave up their second-round pick (which ended up being No. 32 overall) for Claypool.
The split between Claypool and Steelers was in the pipeline for a bit: He was looking for a contract extension, but the Steelers were unwilling to budge on Claypool's request. That led to the Steelers putting a fairly high asking price on Claypool, something that they maxed out in the trade.
At the time, the trade seemed to be a smart one, though the price was high: The Bears needed another wide receiver to pair with Darnell Mooney, so paying a premium for a player who offered a bit of upside in Claypool made some level of sense.
Still, it wasn't enough, as Claypool made no impact on the Bears offense and has yet to develop any kind of chemistry with Fields.
Chase Claypool trade details
- Bears receive: WR Chase Claypool
- Steelers receive: 2023 NFL Draft second-round pick (No. 32 overall, CB Joey Porter Jr.)
The Bears sent the first pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft to the Steelers for Chase Claypool. The Steelers would then draft cornerback Joey Porter Jr., son of Pittsburgh great Joey Porter, with that pick.
Claypool was traded with a year remaining on his rookie contract, which was seen by some as a coup for the Bears, who wanted to give Justin Fields a viable outside option. Still, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy wasn't able to figure a way to get Claypool more involved in the offense for a number of reasons.
