The Chicago Bears have found themselves in a sticky situation.
The franchise has caught flak after making contradictory remarks about why wide receiver Chase Claypool missed Sunday’s 31-28 loss to the Denver Broncos when he was deemed a healthy scratch.
“A spokesperson for the Chicago Bears said that wide receiver Chase Claypool was told not to attend Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos after being designated a healthy scratch,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday.
However, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus initially said Claypool had a choice in the matter.
“We told him that it was a choice, and he’s at home right now,” Eberflus said.
This is the third time Claypool has been inactive since being traded to the Bears in 2022.
“When you look at actives or inactives every single week, what we do is we obviously evaluate meetings,” Eberflus said. “We evaluate walk-throughs. We evaluate practice, and we do that every single week. And then we declare actives or inactives based on that. And this week, Claypool was inactive.”
During his weekly appearance on “Kap & J.Hood” on ESPN 1000, Eberflus said he is now “correct[ing] the record.”
“At the podium yesterday, obviously after an emotional game, I was not clear on what transpired there,” Eberflus said Monday. “We did ask Chase to stay home during that time. We felt it was in the best interest of the team. We always base our inactives based on meetings, based on practice, based on walk-throughs during the course of the week. And we made him inactive for that point.”
After Claypool’s absence from Solider Field, it was unclear if he would see the pitch on Thursday.
Although Eberflus said Sunday he expected Claypool to be back with the team the following day, he offered a different take on Monday.
“He’s not going to be in the building this particular week on this short week,” Eberflus said when asked about Claypool’s status for the Bears-Commanders game on Thursday.
Claypool previously voiced his frustration with the way the Bears’ offense was utilizing his talent.
“Sometimes the things around you either elevate you or you have to adapt to allow you to elevate with them,” the 25-year-old wideout said. “So I’ve just been adapting to the new system and my new role in the system and trying to make the most out of it.”
Claypool began his NFL career with the Steelers in 2020.
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