Chase Claypool was born in Canada. Now the former Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver has a clear path to resuming his professional football career across the border. Almost a month after hitting 2024 NFL free agency, Claypool has been added to an exclusive negotiating list by the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders, according to 3DownNation.
The move doesn't necessarily mean Claypool is headed for a new league after just four seasons in the NFL. But it does give the Roughriders the exclusive ability to negotiate a contract with the former second-round draft pick in the event he's interested.
Claypool, 25, most recently played for the Miami Dolphins, who acquired him via trade last October. But he's seen his NFL stock take a big dip in successive seasons. Originally drafted No. 49 overall by the Steelers out of Notre Dame, he topped 850 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie, only to be traded halfway through his third season. After joining the Bears in exchange for a second-round pick, Claypool logged just 18 catches in 10 games over one-and-a-half seasons before his benching and trade.
What's next for the 6-foot-4 wideout, who caught another four passes in his short-lived stint with the Dolphins? The British Columbia native hasn't appeared to draw much interest around the NFL since free agency began. He would be eligible for a CFL offer, seeing as he officially became a free agent in March. CFL teams are permitted to name up to 45 players to a negotiating list, but those players cannot receive a contract offer unless they are no longer under contract with another team or league. If an offer is made but rejected, according to CFLdb, the player is removed from said CFL team's negotiating list one year from the offer date.
