One of the most significant storylines following the Bears after one week of football is Chase Claypool.
The wide receiver --- for whom the Bears traded the No. 32 pick in the previous NFL draft --- gave a lackluster effort for the Bears against the Packers in Week 1. He missed blocks, dropped passes and failed to put anything on the stat sheet.
According to NFL analyst Jay Glazer, steep consequences are in line for Claypool if he continues to regress.
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Glazer said on FOX NFL Sunday that Claypool is "on notice" with the Bears. He said if the Bears don't see improvement from Claypool he could be a healthy scratch in future games, or traded. Glazer mentioned Claypool apologized to the team and the front office after his terrible performance last Sunday.
The Bears have yet to see a return on investment from Claypool. Ryan Poles took a swing for the fences on the wide receiver, giving up crucial draft capital in exchange for the promising, young receiver. However, Claypool has yet to show up.
Over 10 games he played with the Bears last season, Claypool failed to contribute effectively. He caught 10 passes for 140 yards over his first stretch with the Bears.
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Most outsiders took to defend Claypool for lack of time to learn the offense and connect with his quarterback Justin Fields. However, those excuses were erased this offseason as he affirmed having a better understanding of the offense. Many outsiders were enthralled by his connection with Fields, too.
It's only one week into the season. But it's telling. A lack of execution is one thing; an absence of effort is alarming. That's what the Bears will be watching for out of him this week.
How will Claypool handle the criticism from his team and the fans?
Poles told ESPN 1000 before the game if Claypool doesn't improve, adjustments will follow on the Bears' end.
"With Chase, I think he’s a guy that has all the motivation in the world to be a good football player," Poles said. "He’s got to clean some things up. We had some good conversations. I expect to see him make those changes and if he doesn’t, then we’ll have to figure out what we’re going to do after that.
". . . there’s a standard for how we’re going to play football here and if you can’t rise to that standard and live in that space, it’s going to be hard to perform for the Chicago Bears."