Bears reportedly trade for Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool
CHICAGO (CBS) -- After shipping off their two best defensive players in the past week, the Chicago Bears are adding a new wide receiver, acquiring Chase Claypool from the Steelers, according to multiple reports.
ESPN insider Field Yates was first to report the trade. ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported the Steelers are getting a second-round pick in return.
Claypool, 24, was the Steelers' second-round draft pick in 2020, and had 9 touchdowns and 873 yards on 62 receptions in his rookie season. He had 860 yards and 2 touchdowns on 59 catches in his second season in 2021, and has totaled 311 yards and 1 touchdown on 32 catches through 8 games this year.
The 6-foot-4 receiver could quickly become the Bears' top wide receiver, joining a receiving corps that includes Darnell Mooney, Dante Pettis, N'Keal Harry, Equanimeous St. Brown, Velus Jones R., Isaiah Coulter, and the injured Byron Pringle.
Of the Bears' existing receivers, only Mooney has more receiving yards than Claypool so far in 2022 with 364 yards on 32 catches, though has yet to find the end zone.
The trade comes a day after the Bears sent star linebacker Roquan Smith to the Ravens for a second-round and a fifth-round draft pick, and linebacker A.J. Klein. It's unclear if the second-round pick the Bears are sending to the Steelers is their own draft pick or the one they acquired from Baltimore.
Last week, the Bears traded defensive end Robert Quinn to the Eagles week for a fourth-round draft pick.
After the Claypool trade, the Bears now have eight picks in the 2023 NFL Draft - one each in the first, second, third, and seventh rounds, and two each in the fourth and fifth rounds.