Chicago Bears wide receiver Chase Claypool is frustrated. After being targeted one time and held without a reception in Week 17’s 41-10 loss to the Detroit Lions, his emotions got the best of him on the sideline when he tossed his helmet and shouted at wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert late in the game.
Perhaps Claypool hears the whispers of unhappy Bears fans who are beginning to second-guess the team’s decision to trade their 2023 second-round pick for him. With just 12 receptions in six games with Chicago, Claypool needs a big finish in Week 18’s finale against the Minnesota Vikings to build momentum for the offseason.
One thing Claypool hasn’t lost is the support of Justin Fields, who calmed his presumptive WR1 during his emotional outburst.
“He was frustrated,” Fields said Sunday. “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.”
