The Bears almost made it through a week without a player raising an issue with the coaching staff.
Almost.
Now it’s wide receiver Chase Claypool, who only two weeks ago was in jeopardy of being benched because of a lackluster performance in the season opener.
Claypool? Really?
Little has gone right since the Bears traded for Claypool last season, and when asked if the team has been putting him in the best position to showcase his skills, he shook his head and said no.
Claypool was then pressed on his situation with the Bears.
“No, I wouldn’t say that [it isn’t ideal],” he said. “Every situation has the ability to be ideal; we’re just working toward that. I’m not gonna say that. I wouldn’t say that it’s not an ideal place for me.
“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. You just have to make do with what you’ve got.”
When asked about what the Bears should do to help him thrive, Claypool said, “I’ll let them decide that. I’m not gonna give any pointers. That’s their job to decide, and I’ll just do what they tell me to do.”
Quarterback Justin Fields said last week that he was being overcoached, which led to overthinking, and “it doesn’t let you play like yourself.”
But Claypool has far less standing than Fields to vent.
Bears coaches and players defended Claypool at every turn when he got off to a slow start after the midseason trade. He had only 14 catches for 140 yards in seven games, but offensive coordinator Luke Getsy repeatedly advised patience as Claypool acclimated to a new team in the middle of the season.
That was supposed to be the end of the transition period, but Claypool said Friday that he’s “just been adapting to the new system and my new role in the system and trying to make the most out of it.”
He has 51 yards and a touchdown on four catches out of 14 targets from Fields going into the game against the Broncos on Sunday.
Fields threw to him four times in the blowout loss to the Chiefs last week, and Claypool had one catch for 15 yards — on the Bears’ first play.
His frustration with his role echoes comments he made about the Steelers shortly after the Bears traded for him. He said the Steelers “formation-ed” him away from big-play opportunities and used him as a decoy instead. He felt like they were telling him, “Hey, here’s your one play of the week. Make sure you make a play on this no matter what the coverage is.”
Whatever the reason, Claypool went from 121 catches, 1,733 yards and 11 touchdowns over his first two seasons to 311 yards and a touchdown on 32 catches in the first half of last season before the Steelers dealt him.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles didn’t register that as a red flag, nor did it seem to put him on alert that one of the NFL’s most respected organizations was so eager to unload a talented young player. The Bears got into a bidding war with the Packers and ultimately sent the 32nd overall pick to the Steelers for Claypool.
It was assumed when the Bears made the trade that they’d soon try to sign Claypool to a contract extension, but that clearly was off the table in the recent offseason when Poles said in February, “We need to see more” before having those discussions.
Instead, they’ve seen less.
The Claypool trade has been Poles’ biggest mistake — something he almost certainly wouldn’t dispute. And it seems to be getting worse.
