Chase Claypool wasn’t happy. Towards the end of the Chicago Bears’ dispiriting 41-10 loss in Detroit, the wide receiver was spotted slamming his helmet on the sideline. It was another in a string of aggravating games for the former 2nd round pick. He was only targeted once in this game, and it fell incomplete. People are already calling the trade to get him a massive misfire. It would’ve been easy to let his new teammate stew, but that isn’t what Justin Fields is about. So the quarterback pulled his teammate aside and talked to him.
Reporters asked Fields what he said after the game. The quarterback, showing some of his own frustration at how the season has gone, offered a lengthy answer.
His words reinforced how incredibly mature Fields is for his age.
“He was frustrated. He’s a passionate player. He’s passionate about the game. But I think his emotions – he was just showing his emotions. It’s great to have emotion in the game, you just have to know how to control it. You can’t let it come out like that. At the end of the day, that’s not helping anybody. That’s not helping the team. Everybody is frustrated. We’re getting blown out. Just call it what it is. We got punched in the mouth. Everybody feels that way.
I talked to him like, ‘That’s not going to do anything. That’s not helping anybody. That’s just spreading everybody apart. We need to be here for each other, stick with each other, and fight. Not many teams in this league are going to fight the way we did. I just, I don’t know, I’m getting really passionate. It’s like every drive we’re going out and I’m like, ‘Yo, I don’t care what the score is. We’re going to play our hardest.’ They know that I’m doing that. Of course, going back on Chase, he’s passionate but just has to learn how to control those emotions and keep it inside and just know what’s going to be best for the team.”
It was a rough day for Fields. He was sacked seven times and only completed seven of 21 passes. If anybody had a right to vent his frustrations, it was the Bears QB. Yet he remained in control of his emotions. If Claypool wants to reach his potential as a player, he must learn to operate with better self-control.
Justin Fields will have a fresh start with Claypool in 2023.
The two never really had a chance to get going this year. Bears coaches haven’t done the best job trying to get the receiver more involved early. A knee injury also hampered Claypool’s momentum a few weeks ago. Next off-season will allow them to build their chemistry while GM Ryan Poles hopefully improves the rest of the roster in the meantime. With better protection, Fields should be able to find his new receiver far more often. It comes down to whether Claypool is willing to put in the work.
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People will keep talking about whether Justin Fields can be an NFL passer. That is inevitable after such a difficult season. What nobody can dispute is the young man’s heart. He has given the Bears everything he has. Nobody disputes he is the unquestioned leader of this team. This encounter with Claypool is another of him understanding the big picture. It’s not about the individual. It is about the team. Once everybody plays an unselfish game, the Bears will start winning.
