Justin Fields called Chase Claypool on Saturday, after the Bears knew who was going to play against the Broncos in Week 4 and who was going to be inactive. He didn’t want to get into the details of everything that went into Claypool being made inactive, he just wanted to call, as a friend, and see how Claypool was doing.
“He was cool,” Fields said. “He was good. I was really just checking up on him, making sure he was straight mentally. He said he was going to take some time to himself and kind of kept it short.”
Sometime after that things became uncool. Claypool was so not good that the Bears asked him to stay away from the team on Sunday. Eventually, the team decided it would be best for Claypool to stay away for the entire week leading up to the Commanders game, too.
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“It sucks but at the end of the day, you can’t control it,” Fields said. “You’ve got to go out there with guys that we have and execute like we did this past Sunday. Wish nothing but the best for Chase. I think he knows that he kind of messed up by saying that, but wish him nothing but the best.
“He’s a talented player and he’s a great person, has a good heart and works really hard. Definitely going to be staying in touch with him regardless of what happens and wish him nothing but the best.”
It’s the biggest statement of support for Claypool to come out of Halas Hall since this soap opera began. Fields also said he believes Claypool is remorseful.
“The drama it caused, all the big media stuff, I know that if he could take it back he definitely would.”
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Claypool can’t take it back, and the Bears don’t seem likely to have him back in the building any time soon. On Sunday, Fields said he hoped Claypool would return to the team, but now it looks like the relationship between the Bears and their embattled wide receiver is beyond salvaging.