Bills to release Chase Claypool due to toe injury, 3 months after signing him

Chase Claypool, once a rising star at wide receiver, is on the lookout for his fifth team in three years.

The former Pittsburgh Steelers standout was released by the Buffalo Bills on Thursday with an injury settlement, according to the NFL's transaction wire. He had landed on injured reserve with a toe injury two days earlier.

The Bills signed Claypool to a one-year contract in May, with the hope he could be a buy-low win for a wide receiver room low in depth. He did get some solid reviews, but the toe injury was apparently too much for the Bills to overcome.

It's another setback for a player whose career has been full of them since a very promising rookie year. A second-round pick in 2020, Claypool burst onto the scene with the Steelers, posting 873 passing yards and nine touchdowns in his first season. His sophomore season was a step back, however, and he eventually wore out his welcome enough that Pittsburgh traded him to the Chicago Bears midway through 2022.

That Bears tenure was, simply put, a disaster. He opened the 2023 season with an effort so bad he had to apologize to the team after a lowlight reel went viral. A couple mediocre games later, he was asked if the team was putting him in position to succeed and responded "No."

Chicago, openly done with him after 10 games played, traded him away for nearly nothing to the Miami Dolphins, where he posted a total of 26 receiving yards in nine games.

Now 26 years old, Claypool doesn't have much value to speak of. Another team could follow the Bills' lead and try to land him for cheap, but it might be hard for some to even justify the cost of a roster spot for him.