At the 2022 trade deadline, with the Green Bay Packers struggling and looking to upgrade their roster, general manager Brian Gutekunst aggressively pursued then-Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool, offering a 2023 second-round selection and a late-round selection, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That, of course, never materialized as the Steelers traded Claypool to the Chicago Bears for a 2023 second-round pick because Pittsburgh believed that the Bears would finish worse than the Packers. 

General manager Omar Kahn was correct; the Bears finished worse than the Packers, leaving the Steelers with the 32nd overall selection (first in the second round), instead of No. 50. (The NFL rescinded the Miami Dolphins’ first-round pick due to tampering violations.) For practical purposes, the Steelers received a first-round selection for Claypool. Gutekunst should send a fruit basket, and possibly more, to Kahn for declining Gutekunst’s trade offer. 

In seven games last year with the Bears, the 49th overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft finished with 14 receptions for 140 yards and zero touchdowns. He averaged 4.8 yards per target and produced a drop rate of 10.3% on 29 targets (2.0% drop rate with the Steelers in 2022). Justin Field’s passer rating when targeting Claypool was 33.7. In 15 total games, he registered 46 receptions on 79 targets for 451 yards and one touchdown, and against the Packers in Week 13, he had five receptions for 28 yards and one fumble lost. 

Claypool’s lackluster performance with the Bears in the second half of the 2022 season is one thing, but what should be the most concerning is how the Notre Dame product has reportedly conducted himself as of late. 

Marc Silverman of Waddle & Silvy on ESPN 1000 in Chicago “heard from a few people inside that building that he is not somebody who is very self-motivated. There’s a long way to go. … All I can tell you is it isn’t trending in a way that the Bears have wanted it to trend in this offseason. 

“Chase Claypool is a guy that they’ve wanted to see some things from. They have not been able to see those things from him on and off the field.”

Clock running down to 30 seconds,

Chase Claypool: pic.twitter.com/GZF8xH6Czx

— Kevin Thang (@Skip2MyJays) December 10, 2021

Claypool did not participate in the team’s minicamp last week and instead worked with the team trainers because he was “dealing with a few things,” according to head coach Matt Eberflus. Prior to the team’s minicamp, Eberflus said that Claypool was dealing with a soft-tissue injury. 

It is possible that Claypool returns to his rookie form, a season in which he finished with 873 receiving yards and 11 total touchdowns. His 2022 stat line with the Bears may also be a sign of things to come. I am betting on the latter. So, sometimes, the trades that fall through for NFL general managers are the best trades.