Dolphins Did Extensive Research on Claypool Before Pulling Trigger on Trade

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel says newly acquired receiver Chase Claypool will have to "earn his place in the locker room"

The Miami Dolphins did their research on Chase Claypool before pulling the trigger on Friday’s trade, acquiring the disgruntled receiver the Chicago Bears told to stay home last week.

Miami’s decision makers put in a call to the Pittsburgh Steelers organization according to a league source, vetting the fourth-year receiver the Steelers traded away a year ago, and coach Mike McDaniel spoke to the team’s leadership about potentially adding Claypool to the locker room, addressing if there were any concerns.

The receiver’s character was also discussed, and tight end Durham Smythe, who played with Claypool at Notre Dame for two seasons, vouched for his college teammate of two seasons.

“He’s a good guy, a smart joy. I don’t know any of the surrounding circumstances of the things he’s gone through the past couple months, but from what I remember he’s a good guy, and smart,” Smythe said about Claypool, who has been traded twice in the past year, first by the Steelers, which sent him to Chicago for the 32nd pick in the 2023 NFL draft, and now to Miami, which acquired the four-year veteran for a swap of 2025 sixth and seventh-round picks.

Here's what Claypool adds

What the Dolphins like about Claypool, whom Miami faced twice last season (he caught seven passes for 54 yards in both games), is that he brings size (6-foot-4, 230 pounds), which was something missing from Miami's weaponry arsenal.

If Claypool, who also ran a 4.42 40-time at the NFL combine, learns the playbook fast enough he could become an immediate factor in the red zone, potentially opening up a full set of plays the Dolphins couldn't previously utilize because of the team's limited size at receiver, which shrunk when Erik Ezukanma went on the NFI list because of a neck injury that he recently re-aggravated.

“He’s a very physical player. When he first got to Notre Dame he was the size he is now and was just destroying safeties and corners in the run game," Smythe said. "I think it’s a part of his game that not a lot of people talk about. He’s physically very talented and think he’ll be a good complement to what we have here.”

Claypool given blank slate

But the biggest concern about Claypool is his work ethic, attitude, and his growing diva reputation, which got him banished from Chicago.

McDaniel said he entrusts the locker room to police itself, and plans to give Claypool a blank slate, not allowing his past misdeeds, or reputation to poison his fresh start in Miami.

Dolphins will give Chase Claypool a blank slate to make his impression on the coaches and teammates. “He’ll earn his place based on his actions,” McDaniel said.
“It will be very clear what (the standard) is.” pic.twitter.com/ZJ9sklA915

— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) October 6, 2023

"Everybody hears things. I think it’s very, very important that you let people tell you who they are. I see better than I hear," McDaniel said of Claypool, who has started 32 of the 49 NFL games he's played, and has produced 2,235 receiving yards and scored 15 touchdowns on 171 receptions. "We give you the opportunity to define who you are in the most honest, organic, real way possible."

Keep in mind Claypool, who is earning $2.99 million this season in the final year of his rookie deal, will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, so what he puts on film in Miami, and his behavior in South Florida, could have an impact on his future earnings. 

So the Dolphins will likely get a 25-year-old on his best behavior.

"I don’t downplay what he’s gone through. He went through it," McDaniel said. "You give [him] an opportunity and you allow someone to follow their dream, put the control in their own hands and show teammates each and every day what you’re really about. That is an opportunity that we’re happy to afford him."