Former Steelers WR Chase Claypool's Immaturity Shines Bright As He Calls Out People Questioning His Work Ethic

The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into 2023 training camp with what appears to be their best receiving core in nearly a half decade. Diontae Johnson leads the pack with a ton of talent, while youngsters George Pickens and Calvin Austin III will look to learn and grow with the help of veteran, Allen Robinson. Second-year quarterback, Kenny Pickett will have plenty of targets all over the field to get the ball to if his offensive coordinator has plans to open up the playbook. The unit could certainly surprise a lot of opposing teams if the play-calling is better than it has been during Matt Canada's tenure.

The team's defense has received boosts all over the place with the headliner being future Hall of Fame candidate, Patrick Peterson signing in free agency. Another popular addition was the first pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft when the Steelers stayed put and decided to select cornerback, Joey Porter Jr. out of Penn State University.

The only reason that Pittsburgh was in a position to make the 32nd overall pick was because of a 2022 in-season trade with the Chicago Bears in the beginning of November. General Manager, Omar Khan magnificently dealt former second-round pick and wide receiver, Chase Claypool to the Midwest and received Chicago's second-round pick in return.

The Bears would go on to have an awful end to their season. The organization lost their final 10 games, nine of which came after the trade to acquire Claypool from the Steelers. The pass catcher played in seven games and only was able to haul in 14 catches for 140 yards while not finding the end zone. The early analysis of the deal shows Pittsburgh winning in a landslide.

Claypool has not escaped the spotlight throughout the 2023 offseason as rumors start to swirl that many inside the Bears' organization are not overly impressed with his work ethic. He didn't help himself either by loading up on social media posts while in Paris right after the report broke. That's not exactly sending the best message to your team and fanbase.

Claypool's antics continued on Sunday evening when he released more social media posts relative to his off-the-field life. To be fair, every player is entitled to a strong work-life balance, but the wide receiver's recent stories on Instagram wreaked of a stubborn attitude and ignorance. 

The sarcasm is extremely apparent in his first story, but it's probably not wise for someone who claimed to be a top-three receiver in the NFL to act as if he doesn't have something to prove. He only has three receiving touchdowns since the beginning of his second year after finding the end zone through the air nine times in his rookie campaign.

Claypool's first season with the Steelers may have been the worst thing that happened to his career up to this point. He was extremely successful and highly-touted throughout the league. It appears as though the strong rookie season created an ego and cockiness that is not necessarily warranted. Bears fans can't be happy with his antics since he arrived in Chicago.

Steelers Dodged A Bullet By Trading Claypool

Pittsburgh is in much better shape with Pickens, Austin III and Robinson in 2023. Claypool continues to show that he hasn't grown to the right level of maturity off the field. If he went to Chicago and absolutely balled out for seven games, this might be a completely different conversation. However, with his current attitude and recent stat-lines, he should be putting his head down, going to work and ignoring the criticism off the field. He clearly has decided to go in the opposite direction.

Are you happy that Claypool is no longer with the Steelers? Let us know in the comments below!

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