The Buffalo Bills have released wide receiver Chase Claypool with an injury settlement, after the former Pittsburgh Steeler was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, per ESPN.
Claypool had been absent from practice since he suffered a toe injury on July 28. His injury was initially described as "day-to-day" by Bills coach Sean McDermott, but the situation had obviously gotten worse to the point where Claypool was placed on injured reserve.
"It's a shame because [some new players have] missed a considerable amount of time -- Chase being one of them," McDermott recently said, via ESPN. "It's just hard to evaluate when the players aren't out there, whether it's Chase or anybody. And I know he's fighting like crazy to get back, and we're anxious to have him back."
Prior to getting injured, it appeared that Claypool was possibly on the verge of having a career rebirth in Buffalo, who rebuilt its receiving corps this offseason after trading Stefon Diggs to Houston. Claypool looked good in spring practices and was making an impression on his new teammates and coaches.
"I think he's come in and done all that we could have asked to this point," McDermott said of Claypool back in June. "He's been a good teammate, worked hard, been focused, made plays out there and I think that'll continue as we move forward. We're happy to have him."
Claypool, 26, enjoyed a strong start to his career shortly after the Steelers selected him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He scored 11 touchdowns that season while becoming the first rookie in franchise history to score four touchdowns in a single game.
The former Notre Dame wideout has never been able to duplicate the success he had that year, though. He had just two touchdown catches in 2021, and was traded to Chicago before the trade deadline in 2022 after catching one touchdown through Pittsburgh's first eight games. Claypool caught just eight of 21 targets last year while playing for both the Bears and Dolphins.