Wide receiver Chase Claypool hasn’t had much to smile about since joining the Bears.
Chicago sent a second-round pick to the Steelers for Claypool last year, but Claypool caught just 10 passes with the Bears and missed two games with a knee injury. He missed most of the team’s offseason work because of injury and he was briefly on the physically unable to perform list to open camp.
There was word that the Bears were down on Claypool during the offseason and Claypool said on Wednesday that he’s heard the negative chatter that cropped up around him the last few months. He also said that he has a grasp of how significant this season will be to his football future.
“It’s the biggest year of my life, and I understand that. If anybody thinks my work ethic isn’t matching that, they’re deeply mistaken,” Claypool said, via Alex Shapiro of NBCSportsChicago.com.
Claypool had 121 catches for 1,733 yards and 11 touchdowns over his first two NFL seasons. Finding a way to get back to that kind of production would be a good thing for Claypool and the Bears in 2023.