Chase Claypool is taking his former quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s number with the Bears. Now the Steelers have to figure out who’s going to replace his numbers in Pittsburgh.
Claypool called himself “a dynamic playmaker” as he met with Chicago reporters for the first time Wednesday, after arriving in his new city around 7:45 that morning, and it’s clear that the Steelers are more invested in their future than the present by trading him for a 2023 second-round pick. But in the present, someone else has to step in as the No. 3 receiver.
“I didn't have a clue,” said Steelers wideout Diontae Johnson after practice Wednesday. “But it’s next man up. I wish nothing but the best for Chase. Great player here, also a great friend.”
It might actually be helpful for rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett to have one less big-time pass catcher to please, allowing him to streamline the targets to Johnson, George Pickens and even tight end Pat Freiermuth.
Johnson said “I would hope so” when asked if less Claypool means more opportunities for himself and Pickens. Coach Mike Tomlin praised the progression of Freiermuth as a tight end who can stretch the field and be elevated to an even bigger piece of the offense, in addition to players such as Steven Sims, Miles Boykin and Gunner Olszewski, who round out the receiver room.
“We have some guys who have logged some game time and who appear poised for an increased role,” Tomlin said.
The 5-foot-10, 176-pound Sims was often the replacement for Claypool in the slot in Wednesday’s practice, the last before the players go their separate ways for the off week, according to Johnson. With 63 career catches for 575 yards and five touchdowns his first two seasons with Washington, Sims has more of an NFL track record than anyone behind Johnson.
He impressed Steelers coaches this preseason, about a year after they signed him to the practice squad in September 2021, and carved out a spot for himself on the 53-man roster. Sims is a much different slot receiver than Claypool, but he’s shown his shiftiness as a return man the past few weeks and seems to have gained respect among teammates.
“He can run every route, catch the ball, great hands, gets yards after the catch,” Johnson said. “He’s a four-year vet. He knows the game of football, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do today.”
But Johnson believes he, too, could see an uptick of snaps inside, which hasn’t been a large part of his involvement to this point in the NFL. He has the route-running and quickness to be a factor over the middle of the field and is “hoping, for sure” to be utilized more in that way.
“I can play anywhere on the field,” Johnson said. “I don’t have a problem with that. It’s just if a play gets called, I’ll get a chance to play inside.”
That would allow the Steelers to see what they have on the outside in Boykin, a former Ravens receiver and Claypool’s teammate at Notre Dame who enjoyed reuniting with him for a few months in Pittsburgh. The 6-4, 220-pound Boykin insisted he’s willing to be an interior receiver, too, but the Steelers mostly have used him on the outside since claiming him off waivers in April.
Boykin knows firsthand the cold business that the NFL can be after being cut loose by Baltimore, so he wasn’t exactly surprised by all the news at the trade deadline. Johnson couldn’t help looking at rumors on social media and thought the Packers might be the team to acquire Claypool.
“It’s more just, like, ‘Wow, Chase isn’t here anymore.’ Because he’s somebody who, his personality, everybody’s friends with him,” Boykin said. “Having a guy like that leave, it shakes up the locker room a little bit just in terms of chemistry because we’re all going to miss him.”
Tomlin characterized the trade as being “about the draft capital for us.” In other words, having the Bears’ second-round pick next year was more valuable to the organization than another season and a half of Claypool.
Claypool didn’t have much negative to say about the franchise that drafted him as he settled into the Bears facility and his new No. 10 jersey. We’ll see how the Steelers respond to the move, both individually and collectively.
“Motivation, that’s got to come from within,” Johnson said. “If you don’t have that in you, I don’t know what to tell you.”
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: November 2, 2022, 7:08 p.m.