Curiosity got the better of the Green Bay Packers when they brought in Chase Claypool for a tryout. As promising as his first season or two were in the NFL, Claypool quickly flamed out of pro football and hasn't appeared in a game since 2023.
Claypool is more of a curio athlete than a viable wide receiver these days. More known for doing things like gassing himself up as a top-three player at the position on a podcast with zero evidence to back it up. Oh, and celebrating a first down and burning valuable time during a two-minute drill at the end of a game.
Sure, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur explained Claypool's tryout well enough. It was all about the imagined potential and the "great film" Claypool put out back in 2020 and 2021 as a Steeler. Once Claypool was traded to Chicago for a second-round pick, everything went south.
So how did the 6'4", 238-pound playmaker — who hasn't made an actual play on an NFL field the past two full seasons — fare in his Green Bay audition? You're never gonna believe this, but...
Packers reportedly have 'no plan to revisit' Chase Claypool pursuit after failed tryout
You don't say! NO! Alack! Indeed. Alas, according to KPRC2's Aaron Wilson, the Packers didn't even give Claypool a, "call you maybe." It was more like a, "Thanks. No. Definitively no, thanks."
No immediate deal for #Packers and veteran wide receiver Chase Claypool after tryout, per league source, and no plan to revisit at this time @KPRC2
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 4, 2026
Seriously, when folks are speculating without any substantiation that you might be changing positions as a means of trying to break back into the NFL, your career just might be up a creek.
OK maybe that's a little overboard. Sorry to all the Chase Claypool fans out there and to Chase Claypool. I wish he was more interested in keeping his head on straight and fully capitalizing on his ridiculous athletic gifts.
That's not even said in jest. Claypool is a phenomenal talent. But go watch anything he put on tape in Chicago. He's loafing it, running the wrong routes, not blocking with the effort he should in the run game. You name it.
In Claypool's defense, if Justin Fields were my quarterback, I might get angry, put-off, and want to quit after running glorified cardio every single series.
Claypool did suffer a toe injury in August 2024 that triggered an injury settlement release from the Buffalo Bills. It was a little surprising that he didn't find an NFL home last year, but then again, that's sort of Claypool's entire legacy at this point. A riddle wrapped in an enigma or whatever that saying is.
Anyway, short of an ambitious, sudden conversion to tight end, a position where the Packers are far needier than wide receiver, Claypool had little chance of getting a long look in Green Bay. It'd be cool to see a redemption arc. Just probably not in the cards in Wisconsin.
While we're on the topic of obscure reclamation projects: Cordarrelle Patterson as Packers RB2, anyone? Only half-kidding.
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