First Call: 1 team may have helped boost Steelers' return for Chase Claypool; reported off-field reasons for trade

Wednesday’s “First Call” looks at a number of angles surrounding the trade of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool — from reaction in Chicago, to theories as to why the deal was made to depth concerns now that Claypool is gone.

All that, plus a team that may have helped bolster the Steelers’ return.

Driving up the price

Some were surprised that the Steelers were able to wrestle a second-round pick away from the Chicago Bears in the Chase Claypool trade.

Not only that, but they got the Bears own second-round pick. Not the second-rounder they acquired from the Baltimore Ravens in the recent Roquan Smith trade. Chicago’s original pick is likely to be the higher of the two.

According to multiple reports, the Green Bay Packers may have been driving up the price by offering a second-rounder of their own.

As some others have reported, the #Packers were in the running for #Steelers WR Chase Claypool. They offered the same compensation as Chicago did, a source said. But the #Steelers thought Chicago's pick would be considerably higher even though both teams are 3-5.

— Tom Silverstein (@TomSilverstein) November 1, 2022

Now the Steelers better hope Claypool doesn’t help the 3-5 Bears too much and that they continue to struggle so the pick ends up being higher than their NFC North division rival’s.

Additional motivation?

Aside from the appeal of getting a second-round pick for Claypool, one report says that the Steelers may have been tiring of the wide receiver off the field as much as they were done trying to develop him on it.

NFL reporter Josina Anderson claims she had information that the Steelers had started to deem the third-year pro as a “distraction behind the scenes.”

Added background: From what I am hearing, and been hearing over the last week the #Steelers moved on from what they felt like was somewhat of a 'distraction' behind-the scenes. I'm told the Claypool move has been on the table "for at least two weeks," per league source.

— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) November 1, 2022

I’m not sure how “behind the scenes” it really was. After all, Claypool was seen throwing his mouthpiece in frustration during the loss to Philadelphia on Sunday.

Yeah he wants traded. pic.twitter.com/0qOsSEYjVI

— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) October 30, 2022

Also, after the defeat in Miami the previous week, Claypool was quoted as saying that the offense lacks enough “go balls.”

That said, Claypool at least posted some fond sentiment about his time in Pittsburgh after the trade was announced.

I will always have an unbelievable amount of love for Steelers Nation and the organization that drafted me out of Notre Dame. I am beyond grateful for the amazing people in Pittsburgh for embracing me & the lifelong memories made. Now... Back to business in the Midwest. pic.twitter.com/jCeHL1CBQ8

— Chase Claypool (@ChaseClaypool) November 1, 2022

Chasing Chase

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles explained his reasoning for acquiring Claypool. Apparently, some of the thought process was that the team wasn’t thrilled with what it saw on the horizon at the receiver position in free agency.

“You have to do a little bit of forecasting down the road,” Poles said via Bears Wire. “And I just didn’t feel comfortable with that.”

That may also mean that the Bears are more inclined to look elsewhere besides receiver in the draft — at least in the first two rounds — since receivers appear to be plentiful coming out of college on an annual basis. So they may feel they can get value at receiver later, while obtaining higher-end players with their top two picks at other positions of need.

Poles also said that he wanted to get another weapon on the club for quarterback Justin Fields. Aside from Darnell Mooney, Chicago is thin there.

“I like the way Justin is trending,” Poles said. “And I think adding another big body who is physical, explosive, great leaping ability, can stretch the field but is also violent with the ball in his hand and as a blocker, I think that enhances everyone.”

Poles is pointing out all the positive attributes everyone in Pittsburgh knows exist in Claypool’s skillset. Now the Bears’ challenge is to get them to show more consistently than we saw here.

More Steelers news

• Steelers trade Chase Claypool to Bears, add CB William Jackson from Commanders
• Matt Canada 'not privy' to his job status, 'feels pretty good' Steelers offense can get fixed
• Tim Benz: Even the most optimistic spin on Steelers after bye rings hollow

Not ’til next year

Likely part of the reason the Steelers feel comfortable trading Claypool is that they have 2022 fourth-round pick Calvin Austin III in reserve.

For next year.

But not for the rest of this season, thanks to a foot injury. The Memphis product had already been ruled out from playing the rest of this season last month when he was activated from injured reserve but was never deemed healthy enough to suit up.

Now, via Austin’s Instagram, we know he’s had surgery in hopes of correcting the problem before 2023 begins.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Calvin Austin III (@calvinaustiniii)

Austin flashed early in training camp. But he suffered the injury prior to the team’s first preseason contest and never participated in game action.