Dolphins trade with Bears for WR Chase Claypool; Terron Armstead goes on IR

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins made a trade with the Chicago Bears for wide receiver Chase Claypool on Friday.

The trade involves a late-round pick swap of 2025 draft selections; the Dolphins sent a sixth-round pick to Chicago and the Bears traded a seventh-rounder along with Claypool, a maligned wideout in recent seasons. The deal is pending a physical on Claypool.

“For us, it felt like a situation where there may be a role to carve out for him,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Friday. “I think, important for the player, you have a guy that wants to take things into his own hands and have an opportunity to be on a team.

“You have to stay steadfast to the commitment of making your team as good as it can be. Sometimes, things come across your radar that you weren’t even looking for, but when you assess it, it falls under the category of: This has a chance to make us better; then you jump on that.”

Claypool burst onto the NFL scene his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, catching nine touchdowns in 2020 as a second-round pick out of Notre Dame. Since, however, he has not produced at the same level and is largely viewed across the league as bringing character concerns.

Although he still posted 59 receptions for 860 yards with Pittsburgh in 2021 — he had 62 receptions for 873 the year before — he only had two receiving touchdowns.

He was traded from the Steelers to the Bears at last season’s trade deadline, Nov. 1, and the Bears are now shipping him away less than a full calendar year later. Claypool was at odds with the organization over the way he was being used in the offense. He was a healthy inactive in Chicago’s Thursday night win over the Washington Commanders.

While there are character concerns with Claypool, McDaniel said he’s giving him a clean slate in Miami.

“Everybody hears things. I think it’s very important that you let people tell them who you are,” McDaniel said.

He added that he and general manager Chris Grier have already had conversations with him laying out he commitments that’s required of him.

“Expectations are crystal clear,” McDaniel said. “He’s very understanding of his opportunity and what the stakes are for him. Really, I’m pretty sure that he’s aware of the narratives out there.”

The coach said he also expects his Dolphins locker room to help Claypool

The Dolphins acquire depth at the receiver position behind stars Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. They also have Braxton Berrios, Robbie Chosen and Cedrick Wilson Jr. on the roster, but they recently had to place River Cracraft on injured reserve for a shoulder injury and Erik Ezukanma on the non-football injury list for a neck ailment.

“We definitely weren’t looking for receiver help,” McDaniel said. “It wasn’t in that nature at all. Very, very happy with our receiving corps.”

Claypool gives Miami a big-bodied receiver the team doesn’t otherwise have on the roster, measuring in at 6-foot-4, 238 pounds. He also has speed, running a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the 2020 scouting combine.

Armstead to IR

In order to make move on the roster, the Dolphins placed left tackle Terron Armstead on injured reserve Friday, McDaniel said at his press conference before the day’s practice.

It was a move that was always a possibility this week as McDaniel was saying Armstead’s recovery would take weeks after he left Sunday’s 48-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills with a left knee injury. He also was playing through ankle, back and another knee ailment.

Armstead is now set to miss at least the next four weeks with his placement on IR, costing him Sunday’s game against the Giants and ensuing games against the Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, at a minimum.

“He will return,” McDaniel said. “He’s fighting the urges to just be like, ‘No, I’m going to go do this.’ He understands the long game with it. … He’s embracing something that he’s not excited about, but he’s excited to do right by the team and excited to get himself back healthy.”

The first game Armstead would be eligible is the Dolphins’ Nov. 5 showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany, but with a bye week to follow, Miami could conceivably just shut him down for six consecutive weeks to give Armstead more time to recover.

The four-time Pro Bowl left tackle had also missed the Dolphins’ first two games of 2023 with the ankle injury he suffered Aug. 17 in a joint practice with the Houston Texans. Kendall Lamm is set to again step in as Miami’s starting left tackle.

Injury report

McDaniel said outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips and center Connor Williams are both “doing well” as they look to return to action Sunday against the New York Giants after missing last week’s 48-20 loss to the Bills.

The Dolphins will see how they fare at Friday’s practice before assessing a game status for Sunday. Both were limited in Wednesday and Thursday drills.

McDaniel joked that the two players have been giving him intimidating looks at team facilities as if to say “don’t you dare” hold them out, and that he might need a bodyguard to protect him from Williams.

The Giants may have running back Saquon Barkley make a return from an ankle injury. They also could be without three offensive linemen in left tackle Andrew Thomas, center John Michael Schmitz and guard Shane Lemieux.