Bears Deal Receiver Claypool After Snapping 14-Game Skid

CHICAGO — Less than a year after acquiring a wide receiver expected to bolster their weapons for quarterback Justin Fields, the Chicago Bears traded Claypool to the Miami Dolphins, ending his stay in Chicago after just 10 games.

The Bears, who snapped a 14-game losing streak on Thursday in a 40-20 victory over the Washington Commanders, will receive a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft in exchange for Claypool and a 2025 seventh-round pick.

In 10 games with the Bears, Claypool – who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2023 second-round pick – had 18 catches for 191 yards and a touchdown. He had four catches on 14 targets for 51 yards and a touchdown in three games this season.

However, Claypool had fallen out of the favor of the Bears’ coach and front office in recent weeks after he expressed disappointment in how he was being used by the Bears in their offensive plans. Claypool was asked to stay at home by Bears coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles on Sunday night after the Bears’ 31-28 loss to the Denver Broncos.

“When you’re evaluating players in meetings, in practice, in walk-throughs, all those things, it’s important that you evaluate the entire body of work, right?” Eberflus told reporters this week at Halas Hall. “And we just feel that right now Chase is going to be out of the building. It’s best for our football team.”

Claypool was told to remain at home for the Broncos game in which the Bears blew a 28-7 lead and fell to 0-4 on the season before earning their first victory of the year Thursday night in Washington. The win marked the Bears' first victory in 346 days.

Prior to Thursday night’s game, Poles inferred in a pregame radio interview that the team would be moving away from Claypool.

“I think Chase is going to learn from this situation, we all will, and I wish him luck moving forward throughout his career," Poles said in the radio interview with ESPN 1000.