Former Steelers WR Chase Claypool Placed on PUP List

The Chicago Bears have placed former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) after he suffered a soft tissue injury in OTAs. It appears that injury is not yet fully healed and will require some time for Claypool to recover.

Claypool can be activated from the PUP list at anytime during training camp and return to practice. However, the injuries have held him back during his tenure in Chicago. Claypool dealt with a nagging knee injury after joining the team following his trade from the Steelers.

The Bears traded their second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft for Claypool in the middle of last season, and that pick became the No. 32 overall pick and the first pick in the second round after Chicago lost every single game the rest of the season. Pittsburgh used that pick to take Joey Porter Jr.

That value certainly tipped the scales of the trade in favor of Omar Khan, and what has happened since with Claypool hasn’t gone much better for Chicago. Claypool was injured down the stretch and ended up catching just 14 passes for 140 yards for the Bears.

For the Steelers, the trade seems to have gone much better. Khan replaced Claypool with veteran free agent Allen Robinson II and landed a player with pick No. 32 that many thought the Steelers might target in the first round in Penn State cornerback in Porter Jr.

But Chase Claypool is oozing with potential and there is now some serious weapons around Justin Fields with D.J. Moore added to the mix. He should be able to be productive but Claypool needs to be healthy and dedicated in order for that to happen. Still, Claypool has had a lackluster start to his tenure in Chicago and the injury places him further back in the offseason program.