Chase Claypool's Serious Approach

Healthier now and in better command of the offense, Bears receiver Chase Claypool has started training camp making plays rather than provoking the ire of fans.

Don't think for a minute Bears receiver Chase Claypool never saw the disparaging social media remarks throughout the summer after he missed a chunk of OTAs and minicamp, was modeling in Europe and then had an injury of some type at the start of training camp.

He won't say what that injury is except that it isn't a knee injury like Justin Fields said on Tuesday.

"Yeah, I kind of have to be told by my, like, family what's going on in the Twitterverse," Claypool said. "But I guess I get it. Maybe people weren't happy with how I dealt with the offseason, but that's only the perception that was given to them and not the reality that's true.

"I remember almost blowing my knee out against the Packers (last year) and being done for the game and kind of pleading to be put back in, putting the knee brace back on and went back in and tried to help my team win. So if there's any questions on how much I'm willing to do to help this team win, there shouldn't be. You know? I think that I'm doing everything I can to be as healthy as possible and knowing in the game everyone gets injured."

Well, OK. But most of that social media criticism was just blasting the horrible looking shirt they made him wear in France when he was modeling.

A Serious Football Guy Now

Claypool is thinking football now and he's apparently healthy, as the Bears see him as better versed in the offense than last year when he arrived at midseason via trade.

"It's the biggest year of my life, and I understand that," Claypool said. "If anybody thinks my work ethic isn’t matching that, they're deeply mistaken."

If Claypool needed a reminder what was at stake, Cole Kmet provided it with his contract extension on Wednesday for four years and $50 million. Claypool is up for an extension or free agency.

"I think every year you're technically playing for your own future," Claypool said. "Past years matter. Current years matter. I feel like I'm always deeply motivated.

"But I just think as the years go on, you learn and you grow and you're able to do things more efficiently and do them at a high level."

It wasn't a high level last year and Claypool admits it. Then again, as everyone on the team points out, he didn't know the offense.

"I think it was like the playbook and it's tough to play as free and as fast as you can when you're running up to the line and you're trying to think not only what you have but what the guy beside you has because that matters as well," Claypool said. "So now knowing what each position is doing and being able to plug and play everywhere, it just makes the game easier."

He says he knows it now thanks to off-season ingenuity.

"I make cue cards," Claypool said. "I think DJ (Moore) giggled at me when he came in and saw all my cue cards that I had. But I would basically just test myself, then if I got one wrong I would put it to the side, go through the ones I got wrong and do that every day until I didn't get one wrong."

It's not a groundbreaking approach to education but if it works, the Bears won't complain. It definitely helped not facing the pressure of the regular-season schedule while he learned it.

"It's just easier when the learning curve isn't as steep," Claypool said. "When you know what’s going on. When you can start asking deeper questions about what's happening in the coverages and stuff like that, rather than learning from an elementary side of things."

The Claypool who seemed edgy and distant last year suddenly became one of the guys in the offseason and that didn't hurt.

"I think once I started getting more comfortable in this system and around the guys, I was able to be myself more," Claypool said. "I wasn't so stressed. I was getting more sleep. I was able to help guys around me, be the leader that I wanted to be.

"That kind of played hand in hand with each other."

The Playmaker

Leadership is fine but the Bears need some big plays from the 6-foot-4, 238-pound wide receiver who has a 40 1/2-inch vertical leap. They see it all coming because of his comfort level.

"I would say just that—see the comfort level on him being able to play in the offense with the alignment, the assignment and then making plays like we know he can," coach Matt Eberflus said. "He's gonna continue to do that. Did some of that today. We're excited about seeing that."

So is Claypool.

"Just a big-time playmaker," Claypool said. "I think that's easy to say, but being a playmaker on different parts of the field–boundary, field, slot, doing different things. Because I think that makes it easier to not only call plays, but for Justin to actually execute the plays."

Claypool's goals are ahead of him like a target.

"The goal is the same," he said. "At the end of the day, it's to win football games.

"My contract year aside, I want to win football games."

It's a more serious approach than many were accusing him of taking during the summer away from the field.

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