The Chicago Bears’ decision to trade for WR Chase Claypool at the 2022 NFL trade deadline seemed like a great idea at the time. But after seven games, a knee injury, and just 14 catches for 140 yards, doubt about Claypool’s future impact has crept into the fanbase.
General manager Ryan Poles doesn’t share that doubt. On Tuesday, he met with reporters at his end-of-year press conference and reiterated his confidence in Claypool as a weapon for the Bears moving forward.
Poles compared in-season trades in football to other major American sports and explained why it’s more difficult for a player like Claypool to make an instant impact post-trade.
“That’s the difference between, like, trades in baseball and basketball,” Poles said. “It’s like plug-and-play (in those sports). There’s an entire offseason and half a season (in football) of installs and all the things you need to do to collectively to play and execute an offensive play. On top of that, it was a little bit choppy with some of Justin (Fields) getting dinged up, (Claypool) got dinged up, so it was a little bit choppy of a start. I told Chase, we had a really good conversation, I’m not blinking at that one at all. I think he’s going to help us moving forward, and I’m excited about it.”
