LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chase Claypool has only been a Bear for a month, but the third-year wide receiver already has immense respect for quarterback Justin Fields.
The second-year signal-caller was inactive for last Sunday's loss to the New York Jets with a separated shoulder. Fields is hopeful he will be able to return to the field Sunday vs. the Green Bay Packers, but he will only do so if he feels he will be able to help the Bears snap their five-game losing streak.
Fields' ability and willingness to gut through pain has resonated with Claypool early in his Bears tenure.
"I'm seeing the type of resilience you don't get from every quarterback, you know?" Claypool said Wednesday. "He is getting beat up and he's bouncing back on his feet every single time. I think that just shows the kind of leader he is because he wants to see his team win and do well and he knows he's a big part of that, but he also knows that he has to be smart. There's a give and take with that."
Claypool had his best game as a Bears on Sunday in the loss to the Jets. The Notre Dame product caught two passes for 51 yards at MetLife Stadium, including a 33-yard catch over Jets rookie corner Sauce Gardner.
With four games under his belt in the Bears' offense, Claypool feels like he's finding his feet in offensive coordinator Luke Getsy's system.
"I just think time with the offense, you get familiar with things," Claypool said. "You don't have to think as much when it comes to your alignments and your assignments, stuff like that. And then the timing."
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Not having to think is the critical part.
"I feel like if you're thinking a little too much you could be looking for clues as to what you have," Claypool said. "Like, you're not 100 percent sure. But if you just know exactly what you have and where you're going you can start looking at the defense and thinking about what you're going to do."
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While Fields remains limited in practice, Claypool is adamant that the Bears' quarterback uncertainty doesn't impact how the wide receivers prepare each week.
That being said, the reviews of Fields' Wednesday practice were positive.
"He looked great," Claypool said. "He looked great."