Packers dodged a bullet by not trading for Bears wide receiver

Green Bay Packers Offseason Workout
Green Bay Packers Offseason Workout / Stacy Revere/GettyImages
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Back in 2022, the Green Bay Packers were looking to add to their wide receiver room.

This led them to shopping around a second-round selection to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their young wide receiver Chase Claypool. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Packers made "aggressive attempts" to trade for Claypool.

Ultimately, the Steelers traded him to the Chicago Bears when they offered their second-round pick, which eventually became Joey Porter Jr., the 32nd selection in the NFL Draft.

Claypool didn't make much of an impact during his short tenure with the Bears, tallying only 140 yards from 14 catches in the seven games he played. While the Bears wanted to slowly introduce him into the offense, Claypool ultimately didn't play too much for the team.

Comparing Claypool to the performance of the Packers' two rookie wide receivers, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, he played worse than both of them individually.

Packers should be thankful they missed out on Chase Claypool trade

The Bears are reportedly unhappy with Claypool's performance during their offseason program. According to Marc Silverman on ESPN's Waddle & Silvy show, the Bears haven't been impressed with the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver.

Silverman said:

"All I can tell you is it isn't trending in a way that the Bears have wanted it to trend in this offseason. Chase Claypool is a guy that they've wanted to see some things from. They have not been able to see those things from him on and off the field. All those things don't sound great for Claypool going into training camp on where they think he's going to be."

Marc Silverman on ESPN's Waddle & Silvy

Claypool took part in the initial week of organized team activities, but he has been unable to join the team for the past three weeks, including both weeks of OTAs and the mandatory minicamp.

Coach Matt Eberflus revealed that Claypool is currently recovering from a "soft tissue" injury. The Bears currently do not think Claypool's mentality is where it should be. Maybe Bears players should be focused on winning rather than trashing Packers fans in interviews.

It sure seems as if the Packers dodged a huge bullet not trading for the 24-year-old receiver and instead selected Luke Musgrave to replace Robert Tonyan. With Claypool coming into the final season of his contract, it looks like Claypool might not see the field as often as the Bears would like.

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