If there was any doubt remaining that the Steelers won the Chase Claypool trade, it’s erased after the latest Bears report.
At last season’s trade deadline, the Chicago Bears made a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers to acquire some wide receiver help for Justin Fields. Chase Claypool was the answer, or at least so they thought.
Chicago traded an early second-round pick — No. 32, to be exact — for Claypool. Pittsburgh would end up using that selection on Joey Porter Jr., a defensive back out of Penn State. The Bears had plenty of picks to play with. It’s a win-win, right?
Well, not so fast. Claypool was injured for much of last season and failed to produce when he was on the field. In Pittsburgh, his work ethic came into question, and those rumors have followed him to the Windy City.
Did Steelers win the Chase Claypool trade with Bears?
As the report suggests, Claypool can still change that narrative. In fact, he’s received plenty of praise from Fields and the Bears coaching staff so far this offseason.
“Chase has improved tremendously from the end of last year to now,” Fields said. “That’s one thing I’m truly proud to say, seeing his work ethic, his attitude change. You can just see he’s taking another step, so definitely excited for that.”
The Chase Claypool hype train is incredibly familiar to me. As a Steelers fan, I was excited when Kevin Colbert drafted Claypool out of Notre Dame, and felt vindicated when he put up impressive numbers in his rookie season. Unfortunately, his lack of consistency eventually caught up with him in Pittsburgh.
Perhaps that can change with the Bears. In Chicago, he has a young quarterback he can grow with. Fields seems to believe in Claypool, as well as the recent-acquired D.J. Moore, as his top weapons.
For now, though, the Steelers won this deal. It’ll only look worse if Porter Jr. turns into a stud.