One of the biggest stories from the Chicago Bears Week 4 loss to the Denver Broncos was that wide receiver Chase Claypool wasn’t there. Head coach Matt Eberflus made the disgruntled pass-catcher a healthy scratch against the Broncos and asked him to stay home not just Sunday but also this week as the Bears prepare for their Week 5 Thursday game against the Washington Commanders. On Monday, the media that covers the team had a few questions; about 20 of them in a row to be more precise.
Over the course of a tense nearly seven minutes at his Monday press conference, the media peppered Matt Eberflus with questions about why the Bears are asking Chase Claypool to stay away from the team after they benched in Week 4 and asked him to stay away in Week 5.
The first question was, “Is the plan to keep Chase Claypool away from the team until you trade or waive him?”
“Yeah, right now we’re just having him stay — not having him be in the building this week,” Eberflus told reporters. “And then, again, [general manager] Ryan [Poles] does all the trades and transactions, and we’ll decide that as we go forward.”
#Bears HC Matt Eberflus got nearly 20 straight questions to open his presser today about what's happening with Chase Claypool.
Just got grilled on the topic… Question after question…
(via @ChicagoBears) pic.twitter.com/DMbVaSfppn
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 2, 2023
As the reporters fired questions at the head coach, Eberflus mostly stuck to the party line of “It’s what’s best for the team.” However, he did let a few interesting nuggets slip.
Eberflus said that he informed Claypool he should stay home on Sunday in the lead-up to Week 5 over the phone. He also suggested that “being on time, being respectful, and working hard” are things he wants, and he wasn’t getting that from his 25-year-old WR.
While Eberflus never committed to Claypool being done in Chicago, this press conference certainly made it sound like he is.
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