Bears: 5 players other than Justin Fields facing a make-or-break year

Chase Claypool needs to step up and prove his worth to the Chicago Bears.

Chase Claypool needs to step up.

Chase Claypool was the first major weapon Ryan Poles acquired for Justin Fields. Poles traded a second-round pick which turned out to be the No. 32 pick in the draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Claypool at the trade deadline. The return on the trade so far is favoring the Steelers.

Claypool caught just 14 passes for 140 yards and no touchdowns in seven games. To be fair, midseason trades in the NFL tend to not have an immediate impact as say in the NBA or MLB.

He had to learn a whole new route tree on the fly. Injuries also made it hard for him to practice and develop chemistry with Fields. It also did not help that the offensive line did not provide sufficient time for Fields to throw.

Now that the protection around Fields has been upgraded and Claypool has had a full offseason to learn the offense, there are no more excuses for him.

D.J. Moore was acquired in the offseason to be the team’s No. 1 wide receiver. Now is the time for Claypool to match the production he had in his first two seasons when he caught 121 balls for 1733 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Claypool is also a free agent after the season. If he can produce, you better believe Poles is going to hand him a new contract after giving up a very high second-round selection to get him.