Bears trade WR Chase Claypool to Dolphins

The Chicago Bears ended their 14-game losing streak Thursday night. On Friday, they rid themselves of the protracted drama surrounding receiver Chase Claypool.

Chicago traded Claypool to the Miami Dolphins, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported, per sources informed of the move.

The teams later confirmed the swap, adding Chicago will receive a 2025 sixth-round pick in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round selection.

The Bears acquired Claypool at last year’s trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a second-round pick, which eventually became No. 32 overall.

Eleven months later, Bears general manager Ryan Poles cut bait for pennies on the dollar.

Claypool never fit in the Bears’ offense, generating 14 catches for 140 yards in seven games last season. To start 2023, the wideout was chided for his effort and eventually made inactive following comments that he wasn’t appropriately used in the offense.

Claypool was a healthy scratch the past two weeks.

The 25-year-old finishes his inglorious stint in the Windy City with 18 catches for 191 yards and a touchdown in 10 games.

For Miami, it’s a cheap filer on a player who scored nine touchdowns as a rookie and generated 850-plus yards in each of his first two seasons in Pittsburgh before the bottom fell out.

“That’s an exciting opportunity,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said of adding Claypool. “For us, it felt like a situation where there might be a role to carve out for him. Then I think, for the player, you have a guy that wants to take things into his own hands and have an opportunity to be on a team.”

Claypool, at 6-foot-4, brings size to the Dolphins’ wide receiver corps. Miami recently lost wideouts Erik Ezukanma and River Cracraft to injuries necessitating depth at the position. Expectations will be low after the receiver’s struggles the past two seasons, but perhaps McDaniel, offensive coordinator Frank Smith and WR coach Wes Welker can coax Claypool back to his early career output.

“We definitely weren’t looking for receiver help. It wasn’t in that nature at all. Very, very happy with our receivers corps,” McDaniel said. “But I think one thing that (general manager) Chris (Grier) and I have always agreed upon and how we operate and do business is you have to stay steadfast to the commitment of making your team as good as it can be.”