Bills new receiver looking to revive his career after challenging 2023 season with Dolphins

For Chase Claypool, his NFL career got off to a solid start. 

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, being named to the Pro Football Writers Association All Rookie Team. Claypool finished with a career high 9 receiving touchdowns in his first season, recording 62 receptions for 873 receiving yards along with 10 carries for 16 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. 

But since then, he has declined. And his career has not gone in the way he would have wanted. 

Following three years with the Steelers, he joined the Chicago Bears for two years, and most recently played with the Miami Dolphins in 2023. Now he's in Buffalo. 

And Claypool has one main goal: revive his career. 

"I went from being a starter, playing every play, to going to Miami and really not playing at all," Claypool said. "So, it ... Made me realize my love for the game. Because even though I was doing nothing that I wanted to do or expect to do, special teams and stuff like that at the time. I realize how much I love football. If I didn't love the game, that'd be easy to just fold."

With the Dolphins, Claypool had just four receptions for 26 receiving yards and no touchdowns. No receiver would be happy with that production, especially considering it was his sixth year. 

But Claypool has high hopes and Bills head coach Sean McDermott summed it up perfectly: He's "on a mission right now to reclaim what he once was."

The receiver expanded upon these sentiments after the Bills second OTAs practice. 

"I think it is tough believing the player that you are or can be, and falling short of those expectations, especially over the last two years, for sure," Claypool said. "It is a tough position because I know there's times where it can be frustrating if I'm not living up to my potential.

"But if it's frustrating to the outside world, it's even more frustrating for me. I understand where I should be. And I understand that I haven't met those expectations. And that's why I work harder and harder and harder and harder every year so I can meet and exceed those expectations."

The Bills lost their top receiver after trading Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, so quarterback Josh Allen is looking for his next top target. And if Claypool has any say in the matter, he wants that spot.