Bears benching Chase Claypool turned Justin Fields into superman

The Chicago Bears are reportedly looking to trade troubled wide receiver Chase Claypool, who is inactive on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. Less than one season after acquiring from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a second-round pick, the Bears have admitted defeat, with Claypool failing to gel with Justin Fields.

With Claypool out on Sunday against the lowly Broncos, Fields has finally started to turn his season around. While the Broncos are, well, the Broncos, the Bears signal-caller looks as explosive as ever just a week after he was floated as a potential trade candidate following Chicago's defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Per Justin Schultz of The Score, Chicago wants a fifth or sixth round pick in return for Claypool. It's unclear whether or not he'll see the field again in the Windy City, especially with Fields and the Bears offense playing this well without him.

Bears offense looks far better without Chase Claypool on the field

Claypool was drafted in the second round out of Notre Dame, and had some decent moments with the Steelers. However, he failed to develop as anything more than a rare deep threat, and was the odd man out on a crowded Pittsburgh receiving corps. Upon his exit, Claypool claimed the Steelers did not use him correctly.

The same cannot be said about Chicago, though. This is now the second NFL team to heavily invest in Claypool. The Bears traded what essentially amounted to a late-first round pick for his services. The hope was that Claypool would develop into Fields' No. 1 option. Instead, he struggled with injuries in 2022, and hasn't done much of anything to earn playing time in 2023.

The Bears traded for D.J. Moore for a reason. He's a true No. 1 wideout, while Claypool can only serve as a decent No. 2 option when his head is in the game. His effort has not been consistent this season, leading to his eventual departure.