‘If They Want Me, They’ll Keep Me’: Chase Claypool Shutting Out Trade Chatter

PITTSBURGH — Chase Claypool is not new to the trade talk swirling around him thus far this week. He is more than attuned to it and has heard all the chatter. After his best performance of the season, however, it is the last thing Claypool wants to hear about from the media.

Steelers Now was able to corroborate the Steelers would want a monster haul in return for Claypool. Claypool has heard about the rumors from some of his friends up to this point. He is not paying attention to the chatter around him as he goes through the weeks.

“My friend had to call me yesterday and tell me about it (trade talks),” Claypool said. “I don’t really look into that stuff. It’s just noise until it happens. So, I don’t really mind the chatter.”

So, how does Claypool react to hearing all of that noise? Well, he really doesn’t. The standard for Claypool is that he still feels wanted and wants to play for the Steelers. So, until it happens, he will not have any significant reaction to the rumors swirling around his name at this point.

“Yeah, I’ll just keep going forward,” Claypool said. “If they want, they’ll keep me. If they don’t want me, they’ll get rid of me. It’s that simple.”

As it stands, Chase Claypool is likely to stay in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh will not consider trading him unless a team overpays, it seems, and as far as Claypool, he seems to be in good spirits. So, in reality, for a player coming off his best game of the season, it is more about building toward that performance than focusing on trade rumors that may not be substantiated.

“Listen, man, if I keep getting the opportunities, I’ll keep making plays,” Claypool said. “I’m just hoping the opportunity is still there down the road. … it was super nice to finally spread the field out a little bit and use me inside. I hope that keeps going.”