In a trade that secured the Pittsburgh Steelers pick number 32, the Steelers gave up Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears. Claypool was traded in 2022 due to a lack luster season. Recently, Steelers legend and former wide receiver, Hines Ward sat down with Steelers Talk by Chat Sports and discussed Claypool.
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Steelers receiver Chase Claypool set an NFL record in Week 5 in 2020 by becoming the first rookie to catch three touchdowns and run for another in a game.
At the trade deadline in 2022, Chicago decided to jump on Claypool. This was done as the Bears had a very rough receiving core with Darnell Mooney being their number one target. In the interview, Ward is asked about what the Bears should be seeing from getting Claypool during the trade deadline. Ward responded to the question with:
"He's very talented... He is everything you want in a wide receiver." Ward then states, "With Chase, it became more about Chase and less about the team."
Ward then goes on to state this about Claypool and the Steelers team:
"The team comes first before any individual accolade."
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Wide receiver Hines Ward #86 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs with the football after catching a pass against the Green Bay Packers during a Monday Night Football game at Three Rivers Stadium on November 9, 1998, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Claypool was never a terrible player for Pittsburgh, but he never was able to break out into being a superstar player though. The Steelers drafted him with the 49th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. After trading that year's first round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick, he essentially was our first-rounder. He had a great start to his career, putting up 9 touchdowns and gaining 873 receiving yards. This led him to get recognized on the All-Rookie Team. But from there, he never truly was able to shine like the Steelers wanted him to, which led to the recent trading last season.
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Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool celebrates after getting a huge first down.
Steelers wide receivers are childish
Claypool has all the size of what you would want in an NFL wide receiver, but one thing that sticks out in a negative is his character. From Antonio Brown to JuJu Smith-Schuster, a stigma that Steelers wide receivers are childish has been assumed in recent years. Claypool is no exception to this behavior. Most notably in a game against the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, the Steelers were driving down the field with very little time left and Claypool decided to do a celebration, rather than get back to the huddle. Well, as many Steeler fans remember, that little celebration would be what cost them the game.
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Steelers wide receivers Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster celebrate getting a touchdown in a game against the Cleveland Browns.
Ward, who was a very serious player and was what used to be the definition of Steeler football, goes on to talk about the character of Claypool:
"There is a little more of maturity level, he needs to grow up a little bit."
Although he had these harsh words for Claypool, he did wish him the best of luck and wanted to see him succeed. But I have to ask, is he wrong? I mean all the fans got to watch him play. At one point, he and Smith-Schuster made Pittsburgh the laughingstock of the league as they were considered the "TikTok" boys.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Is Hines Ward correct in what he said about Claypool? Has Claypool improved his behaviors at all since being in Chicago? Let me know in the comments below!
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