Grading Bears' trade deadline deal to acquire WR Claypool originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Bears general manager Ryan Poles continued to wheel and deal Tuesday before the 2022 NFL Trade Deadline, sending Chicago's 2023 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Chase Claypool.
Claypool is a 24-year-old receiver with a year-and-a-half left on his contract. He has two straight seasons of 800-plus receiving yards and is nearly averaging 15 yards per catch this season while playing with Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Still, there are whispers that the Steelers were ready to move on from Claypool, viewing him as a locker-room distraction. Stuff like that means typically he could have been had for less.
But the Bears also lack wide receiver talent outside of Darnell Mooney, and the 2023 free-agent wide receiver class is, to be kind, bad. That likely led to the Bears' willingness to surrender what is likely to be a top-40 pick for Claypool.
RELATED: Bears' trade for Claypool is all about Justin Fields
Sports
It was a move also spurred by the growth we have seen from quarterback Justin Fields over the past month. In Claypool, Fields has a true downfield receiving threat who can create big plays. It shows the Bears believe in what they are seeing from Fields and know it's time to give him what's needed to ascend.
The deal would have been more palatable had the Bears been able to send the second-round pick they got from the Ravens for Roquan Smith to the Steelers instead of their own.
But they needed a receiver on their preferred timeline, and Claypool gives them the downfield, contested-catch weapon they currently lack.
It was a big price to pay for Poles. But if Claypool and Fields gel, it could be the move that sends Fields' growth to the next level.
Grade for Bears: B-
Grade for Steelers: A
Click here to follow the Under Center Podcast.
