New Bills WR hopes to finally 'exceed expectations' in 2024

Chase Claypool looked like he was going to be the Steelers' next great wide receiver following his first two seasons in the league in which he registered 121 catches for 1,733 yards and 11 touchdowns.

That is not how things have played out, however.

Midway through the 2022 season, Pittsburgh dealt Claypool to the Bears for a second-round pick in what has been since tabbed as one of the most one-sided trades in recent memory.

Claypool's stint in Chicago didn't last long after reeling in only 18 catches for 191 yards and one touchdown in 10 games from 2022-23.

The Bears later traded Claypool and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick.

The former second-round pick proceeded to haul in just four catches for 26 yards in Miami before finding himself on the open market this offseason.

Earlier this month, the Bills became the latest team to take a flier on Claypool as they continue to rebuild their wide receiver room. 

It's safe to say he's more motivated than ever to turn his career back around.

"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, via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com. "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."

It won't be easy for Claypool to see the field early and often as he joins a crowded room that includes Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins and second-round pick Keon Coleman.

However, he seems to have already caught the attention of head coach Sean McDermott, who said Claypool is "on a mission right now to reclaim what he once was."

Whether or not Claypool will remains up for debate, but Buffalo is searching for its new No. 1 wide receiver after an offseason full of change. It's now or never for Claypool.