Chase Claypool won’t start training camp on the physically unable to perform list after all.
One day after the Bears put the receiver on the PUP list, they took him off of it Monday. That presumably clears the way for him to participate in the first practice Wednesday. Veterans report to Halas Hall on Tuesday.
Claypool had been dealing with multiple soft-tissue issues that kept him out of all mandatory minicamp practices and most of the team’s OTA sessions. He seemed healthy earlier this month when he worked out with Justin Fields and other offensive teammates in Florida; the quarterback told the Sun-Times last week that both Claypool and fellow receiver Darnell Mooney were “good to go” for the start of training camp. Mooney is returning from a grisly ankle injury suffered last year against the Jets.
The Bears traded a second-round pick — which, by virtue of them going winless the rest of the season, became the first choice — to the Steelers for Claypool on Nov. 1. He struggled mightily, catching 14 passes for 140 yards in eight games. General manager Ryan Poles subsequently dealt for DJ Moore this offseason, locking Claypool in as the team’s second or third receiver, alongside Mooney.
Claypool now faces a prove-it season, both for him — he’s in the last year of his four-year rookie contract — and the Bears, who must determine whether Fields is their quarterback of the future.
The Bears had hoped Claypool could build chemistry with Fields during the offseason program, but injuries stymied that progress. Training camp snaps between the two will be critical if Claypool wants to improve on a disappointing season.
