Since Omar Khan became the general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team has been wheeling and dealing. The first big trade that really caught the attention of Steelers fans came back in 2022, his first year with the job. That move was a deal with the Chicago Bears in which Chase Claypool was exchanged for a second-round pick that eventually became Joey Porter Jr.
In a recent article, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell looked back at some of the trades from the 2022-23 season and gave an opinion in hindsight.
At first, Barnwell explained the rationale of the Bears for making the move. They had just recently drafted Justin Fields and needed to add talent in the receiver room for him to develop. Still, as Barnwell says, “This didn’t seem like a good idea at the time.”
That ended up being the case. As Steelers fans knew from watching him, Claypool was a model of inconsistency coupled with routine in-game mental lapses. This only got worse with the Bears.
“It went worse than anybody could have expected,” wrote Barnwell. “Claypool looked disinterested during his time with the Bears and caught a total of 18 passes before the organization gave up on him and shipped the mercurial wideout to the Dolphins for a swap of Day 3 picks.”
Those 18 receptions were spread out between two different seasons with 14 catches coming in 2022 and four coming in 2023. In total, he had just 191 yards and one touchdown. As Barnwell said, the Bears had seen enough after that brief time, shipping him out to Miami.
That’s where Claypool’s career would come to an end, totaling just four catches for 26 yards for the Dolphins. He is currently not on an NFL roster.
Needless to say, Barnwell marked this as a win for the Steelers.
“This wasn’t Claypool’s fault, but the Bears didn’t win a single game in 2022 after the trade and ended up sending the top pick in the second round to the Steelers,” wrote Barnell. “Pittsburgh used it on Porter, who was a revelation as a rookie cornerback before taking a bit of a step backward last season.”
Porter has been a mainstay on the Steelers’ defense since being drafted in 2023. While it’s true that he took a slight step back last season, it’s largely overblown. In the short time he played this season and from reports in camp, those issues seem to be trending in the right direction. Unfortunately, he has been dealing with an injury this season, so only time will tell if this continues.
In short, Barnwell’s final verdict: “Huge Steelers victory.”
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