Ryan Poles made the surprising decision to trade a 2nd round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Chase Claypool last year. He felt the Chicago Bears needed more talent at the position to help Justin Fields. Sadly things never quite got off the ground. Claypool started slow, and right when he seemed to find his footing, he suffered a knee injury. Then when he finally returned, Fields got hurt. The two never had much of a chance to build chemistry. Several Bears fans have already called the trade a bust. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy doesn’t think that’s fair.
Claypool walked into a difficult situation. He entered an offense that was in its first year of installation with a young quarterback still finding his footing. There was also the fact Getsy himself was new to the job. Asking Claypool to thrive under such conditions was not feasible. However, things seem to have changed. Fields said the receiver has made massive progress since the end of last season, looking far sharper and more motivated than ever. Getsy corroborated those comments when asked during his Wednesday press conference.
Luke Getsy knows how important Claypool is.
Part of ensuring Fields takes a step forward as a quarterback is getting all of his targets involved. People keep talking about D.J. Moore, and understandably so. The truth is Getsy must draw up plays for Claypool too. Getting him touches will keep him motivated. A motivated player of his talent level will make big plays. Claypool isn’t known for being a malcontent, but he’s also a competitor. He vented his frustrations at times last season when the offense wasn’t doing so well. Fields made sure to talk with him about it.
By the sound of things, Claypool has embraced the locker room culture and is taking a cue from his quarterback. He’s redoubled his efforts to be the best possible player he can be. The fact his contract is expiring after this season likely plays a part in that urgency. Luke Getsy isn’t complaining. Whatever it takes to get the best effort and focus from the guy. If Claypool rebounds this season, the Bears will be happy to reward him with a new deal. It would only benefit their quarterback in the long term.
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Claypool HAS to be better. He knows exactly what this season is. It’s quite possibly his last shot to impress. A bad preseason and camp or getting outperformed by any of the newbies and it’s a wrap.
@Val take your own advice.
Who cares. Until the bears reach pre-season, none of us will really know what is going on. In the meantime, try monopoly or fishing…and get some rest from these sports writers that have nothing to do but to write about nothing that means nothing at this time.
He entered an offense that was in its first year of installation with a young quarterback still finding his footing. There was also the fact Getsy himself was new to the job. Asking Claypool to thrive under such conditions was not feasible.
…so… A bad trade for the first pick in the second round, we get a guy under contract for one year.
Ghost: It’s not about production, it’s about performance. If Claypool goes for around 600 yards and 5 touchdowns, that’s fine if his catch rate is high, and he converts first downs. As Butler said, there’s a lot of WRs to feed now, and we can’t expect Moore, Mooney and Claypool to all be 1000 yard receivers (Moore should be, but we’ll see – if they all are, that means that Fields has jacked his game to crazy new heights), and if the WRs aren’t enough, Kmet, Tonyan, and Roschon Johnson will also catch some balls. What I don’t want to… Read more »