LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears are trading for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool, a source told ESPN’s Field Yates on Tuesday.
In exchange, Chicago is sending its own second-round pick to Pittsburgh, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and not the 2023 second-round selection it received Monday after trading linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens.
This is the third move executed ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline by first-year general manager Ryan Poles. The Bears also sent defensive end Robert Quinn to Philadelphia Eagles for a fourth-round pick on Wednesday.
Claypool, a 2020 second-round pick by Pittsburgh, has 153 catches for 2,044 yards and 12 touchdowns over the last two-plus seasons. Ten of Claypool’s touchdowns came as a rookie.
The acquisition provides Bears quarterback Justin Fields with help at the receiver position. Darnell Mooney leads Chicago in receiving production with 25 catches for 364 yards and no touchdowns through eight games. No other Bears wideout has more than 164 receiving yards or 11 catches, marks that both belong to Equanimeous St. Brown
The Bears now have two big-body threats at wide receiver. At 6-foot-4, 238 pounds, Claypool gives Chicago a speedy vertical threat, and N’Keal Harry (6-4, 225) has the ability to make contested catches and win one-on-ones in the red zone.
Claypool also brings an element the Bears have not used much this season. Since 2020, his 508 yards off tight-window throws are the fifth most in the league, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Claypool, 24, was at practice Tuesday afternoon and briefly spoke with the media at his locker afterward about his bye week approach and discussions in the wide receiver room.
He left the locker room shortly after the interview. With a few minutes left in the open locker room period, news broke that the wide receiver was heading to Chicago. The room was emptying out, but players who were still around got noticeably quieter, including a group of receivers huddled around a phone.
Without Claypool, Steelers receiver Miles Boykin will likely get more targets.
Fields has made considerable progress in each of his past two games, increasing his passer rating from 72.7 in Weeks 1-6 to 103.4 in Weeks 7-8, including reaching the best passer rating of his career (120.0) in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Providing the second-year quarterback with help on the outside is something Poles was asked about during an impromptu news conference ahead of the Bears’ win in New England.
“I think, regardless, we’re always going to be active in the terms of if it’s making phone calls or picking up the phone and just seeing if that is something that can improve our team and it makes sense for us — not only for now. … It’s sustaining success for a long period of time,” Poles said Oct. 24. “It’s not the short fix all the time. Just blending that together is tough because it takes a lot of discipline to do. So that’s what we’re balancing.”
Source: www.espn.com