NEWSLETTER
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is no stranger to saying ear-catching things during his appearances on the Pat McAfee Show.
And Tuesday was no different, with Rodgers discussing chatter that Green Bay was in on the Chase Claypool derby:
The Packers, a team in need of receiver help, have been a team that was often connected to the Steelers (and Claypool, specifically) ahead of Tuesday’s NFL Trade Deadline. In fact, there were multiple reports that Green Bay and Chicago had similar offers on the table in trying to pry Claypool from Pittsburgh.
And, hey, trying counts for something … right?
But in the end, it was the Chicago Bears pulling off the deal. And in the process thwarting Rodgers’ plan to get an upgrade at wide receiver for his team. Don’t you just love to see it?
In the wake of the Claypool trade, there has been plenty of conversation about whether or not this was an overpay on the Bears’ end. And I get where those discussions are coming from as they are happening in real-time. The Bears, while upgrading at receiver, paid a premium on a player who isn’t on pace to get near the 1,000-yard receiving marker. And that feels like a steep price for what is projected to be a top-40 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. However, I think the Bears paying up to keep Claypool off the Packers is worth the “overpay” in my book.
Two long-time rivals were eyeing the same receiver. One team had what the Steelers thought was a more valuable pick dangling in an offer. And that is what pushed this deal across the goal line for the Bears. Or let me put it in a different way: Chicago’s football team got better at the NFL Trade Deadline. Green Bay’s didn’t. You’ll take that every day of the week. And hopefully, we’ll see the Bears get a win against the Packers on the field on a Sunday coming soon.
