Chase Claypool’s time in Chicago appears to be nearing its end.
Claypool has been a healthy scratch for the Bears in two consecutive games, and he was asked to stay away from Halas Hall this week in preparation for the Commanders game. It’s hard to imagine Claypool coming back this.
Buy Bears TicketsBears general manager Ryan Poles addressed the Claypool situation on ESPN 1000 ahead of Thursday night’s game against Washington, where he all but closed the chapter on Claypool’s time in Chicago.
“I always look at things from a player’s perspective,” Poles said, via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “You have a player going into his free agent year, who wants to be productive and help us, and when things aren’t going the right way, sometimes you get emotional, things don’t work out and you struggle to blend in and keep resilient and stay resilient with the rest of the crew. I think Chase is going to learn from this situation, we all will, and I wish him luck moving forward throughout his career.”
It wasn’t confirmation of Claypool’s imminent departure, but it’s as close as it’s going to get before Poles makes a move.
The Bears sent their 2023 second-round pick — which turned into No. 32 overall — to the Steelers last November for Claypool. It’s easily Poles’ worst move as GM.
The hope is the Bears can acquire a late-round draft pick for Claypool rather than releasing him and getting nothing at all.
