Chase Claypool Gets a Lifeline in Green Bay — But Don't Bet on a Roster Spot Yet

Chase Claypool is back on an NFL practice field, two years after effectively washing out of the league. Per The Athletic's Matt Schneidman, the 27-year-old wide receiver is attending Green Bay's rookie minicamp on a tryout basis — a structured audition that gives the Packers a no-risk look at a player whose physical tools were never the problem.

Claypool was the 49th overall pick out of Notre Dame in 2020, a 6-foot-4, 238-pound weapon who flashed enough in Pittsburgh to generate legitimate excitement. But the trajectory cratered fast. The Bears acquired him mid-season in 2022 for a significant package, and he produced almost nothing — 77 yards on 10 receptions before a knee injury ended his year. He never played another NFL snap. The combination of effort questions, attitude concerns, and then the injury created an off-ramp the league was happy to take. Green Bay actually attempted to trade for him in that 2022 window before Chicago won the bidding. Now they're getting him for a workout fee instead of draft capital.

This is a minicamp tryout, not a contract. The Packers have built one of the NFL's youngest and most intriguing wide receiver rooms around Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, and Jayden Reed — a group that gives Jordan Love legitimate weapons on all three levels. Claypool, if he earns a roster spot, would enter a depth chart where targets are already being contested. Love threw for 3,485 yards last season in a run-heavy system under Matt LaFleur. There is no vacancy at the top of this corps.

From a prop-betting standpoint, Claypool's tryout is essentially a non-event for the 2025 season market — until it isn't. If he signs and begins appearing in training camp reports as a legitimate depth option, there are downstream effects worth monitoring. Every target gobbled up by a functional Claypool is one fewer for Doubs, Wicks, or Watson, compressing their reception and receiving-yard ceilings slightly. More importantly, watch for any movement on Green Bay's team passing total. The Packers currently project as a mid-tier passing offense given LaFleur's commitment to the run and the youth of Love's supporting cast. Adding a legitimate red-zone body — Claypool's size made him a credible end-zone threat at his peak — could nudge Love's passing TD prop in the right direction if everything breaks correctly.

The realistic outcome here is that Claypool attends minicamp, shows enough to get a second look in training camp, and either earns a practice squad role or gets cut before September. That's not a betting event. The number to watch is whether he appears on the 53-man roster come cutdown day — at that point, re-evaluate the receiving props for Doubs and Watson, as target-share math in Green Bay's controlled passing game means additions genuinely compress individual opportunities.