The Pittsburgh Steelers traded wide receiver Chase Claypool of Abbotsford, British Columbia to the Chicago Bears on Tuesday according to the Associated Press. In return, the Steelers receive a second round draft pick in the 2023 National Football League Draft.
Claypool joins a Bears offense that is ranked last in the National Football League in passing yards per game with 126.9. So far in 2022, Claypool has 32 catches for 311 yards and one touchdown. Claypool’s touchdown came in a 20-18 Steelers upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 16. This past weekend Claypool also threw a one-yard touchdown pass to fullback Derek Watt in a 35-13 Steelers loss to the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. It was Claypool’s first touchdown pass of his career, and Watt’s first ever touchdown catch.
For his career, Claypool has 153 catches for 2044 receiving yards and 12 touchdown catches in 39 games. In an era where it is now common to see wide receivers run the football on various reverses, he had 32 carries for 167 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. After generating chemistry with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in his first two seasons in the NFL, Claypool will look to do the same with Bears quarterback Justin Fields. The Canadian is now second on the Bears in receiving yards, only behind Darnell Mooney, who has 364 yards.
The Bears are third in the NFC North with a record of three wins and five losses. The Steelers are last in the AFC North at two wins and six losses.