The Bears made Chase Claypool a healthy scratch Sunday, two days after the wide receiver said the team wasn’t using him properly.
It will mark a new low in Claypool’s disappointing tenure with the team, which sent the eventual No. 32 overall pick to the Steelers for him last year. On a season full of lows, Claypool has emerged as general manager Ryan Poles’ biggest mistake. Since Poles dealt for him, Claypool has just 18 catches for 191 yards in 10 games.
Claypool shook his head no Friday when asked if the team was putting him in the best position to succeed.
“Obviously, there’s other places. You can say, ‘Oh, I want to be on the best offense with the highest passing yards,’ but that doesn’t happen in football,” he said. “You just have to make do with what you’ve got.”
It’s unclear if Claypool knew at the time he was being benched, or if those comments contributed to the decision.
Claypool drew the ire of some of his coaches and teammates for not showing enough effort in a Week 1 loss to the Packers. Before the Week 2 game against the Buccaneers, Poles told the ESPN1000 pregame show that the Bears expected him to make changes.
“And if he doesn’t,” Poles said, “then we’ll have to figure out what we’re going to do after that.”
Claypool’s effort was better against the Bucs — he caught a touchdown pass — but he committed a fourth-quarter penalty when he run-blocked on a passing play.
The Bears are desperate for a win; they’re riding a 13 game losing streak, the longest in franchise history. Equanimeous St Brown was made active for the first time this season and will take Claypool’s place. Coach Matt Eberflus praised his practice habits this week, and he’s known as an excellent run blocker.
Claypool simply hasn’t been the dynamic the Bears believed they were trading for. He has only four catches on 14 targets this year. Since the trade, he’s failed to eclipse either five catches or 51 yards in a single game.
