Quarterback Justin Fields said it “sucks” that wide receiver Chase Claypool was not with the Bears this week but stopped short of defending his actions Tuesday.
The Bears made Claypool inactive Sunday and told him to stay away from Soldier Field and Halas Hall. They are expected to trade or waive Claypool soon.
Coach Matt Eberflus, who at first said Claypool chose to skip the game Sunday before team representatives claimed otherwise, said his absence was unrelated to him saying Friday he wasn’t being put in a position to succeed.
The Bears had warned Claypool about his actions and lack of effort dating to last season. He has been unproductive since the Bears traded for him with 18 catches for 191 yards in 10 games.
Fields said Eberflus told the team that Claypool’s departure wasn’t the result of one action. Claypool’s comments from Friday contributed, though, Fields said, and that “if he could take it back, he definitely would.”
“I think he knows that he kind of messed up by saying that, but I wish him nothing but the best,” Fields said. “He’s a talented player, and he’s a great person, has a good heart and works really hard. Definitely going to be staying in touch with him regardless of what happens.”
Fields said Claypool was “going to take some time for himself” when they spoke Saturday.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy declined to address Claypool’s situation but later said the Bears were worried about “what we have to deal with, and we’re working with the guys that we’ve got.”
Getsy: Call was good
Getsy stood by his fourth-and-one call that was stuffed with the score tied and about three minutes to play in the loss to the Broncos on Sunday.
He called a read-option in which Fields took a shotgun snap, read the right defensive end and handed off to running back Khalil Herbert. Herbert was stopped after rookie offensive tackle Darnell Wright missed a block.
“We didn’t obviously execute it, necessarily,” Getsy said. “But we knew how they were gonna line up. We had the right call. Justin made the right decision. We just didn’t get it done. The execution, the alignments, the angles, everything was exactly the way we wanted it.”
This and that
- The Bears signed veteran safety Duron Harmon off the Ravens’ practice squad and put him on their active roster. Harmon, 32, is in his 11th season, has 78 career starts and won three Super Bowls with the Patriots.
He’ll add depth to a defense missing safety Eddie Jackson (foot) and cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) and Kyler Gordon (hand). Jackson and Johnson were listed as out in Tuesday’s estimated injury report. Gordon is on injured reserve.
- Getsy said left guard Teven Jenkins could play Thursday, which would move Cody Whitehair to center in place of Lucas Patrick. He returned to practice Monday after going on injured reserve with a calf injury.
“It’s gonna take another day or two to make sure everybody feels good with it,” Getsy said.
