Bears reportedly unhappy with key WR

The Chicago Bears paid a steep price to acquire wide receiver Chase Claypool at the 2022 trade deadline, and so far they do not seem very happy with that investment.

According to ESPN 1000 in Chicago, the Bears are reportedly unhappy with what they are seeing from Claypool this offseason.

Marc Silverman reported Claypool "is not somebody who is very self-motivated" and that there is a long way to go with him.

The Bears traded a second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the trade deadline to acquire Claypool. That pick ended up being the No. 32 overall pick in the draft, which is essentially a first-round pick. The Steelers reportedly had two offers of second-round picks on the table for Claypool at the deadline and chose Chicago's over Green Bay's because they believed it would be a higher pick.

They were right. 

The Steelers used that pick to select cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from Penn State. 

Claypool caught just 14 passes (on 29 targets) in seven games with the Bears following the trade.

He burst onto the scene as a rookie during the 2020 season, scoring 11 touchdowns for the Steelers and looking like he was on his way toward becoming a star, but he took a small step backward in 2021 and an even bigger step back in 2022.

The Bears are hoping he can regain his rookie form and realize that potential. 

Chicago has made a huge effort to surround starting quarterback Justin Fields with talent, adding Claypool and D.J. Moore to its wide receiver corps to join Darnell Mooney. On paper it has potential, but it needs to happen on the field.