Chase Claypool is not done chasing an NFL job, and the Indianapolis Colts just gave him a look.
The free agent wide receiver worked out for Indianapolis on Thursday, per the league’s official transaction wire. Claypool left the building without a contract, but Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported that the Colts could still bring him in later if the fit is right.
That is a soft “maybe” at best, and honestly, that is about all Claypool can hope for at this point in his career.
He turned 28 earlier this month, which sounds young until you remember he has not played a real NFL snap since 2023. Injuries wrecked his 2024 season entirely. Nobody signed him last year. This is a guy trying to claw back into the league after two years off the field, not a hot free agent commodity.
The history is complicated too. Claypool once claimed he was one of the three best wide receivers in football. That aged like a gallon of milk on a hot dashboard. He got shipped from Pittsburgh after clashing with the Steelers, then wore out his welcome in Chicago after some ugly effort clips and mental mistakes went viral. Miami tried him briefly. It did not work.
To Claypool’s credit, the raw ability was real early. He put up 1,733 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns across his first two NFL seasons. The tape from 2020 and 2021 shows a big-bodied wideout who can go up and get contested balls. That is a skill teams still pay for.
Indianapolis makes some sense as a fit on paper. Josh Downs is dynamic in the slot. Alec Pierce is a vertical threat outside. Beyond those two, the depth chart gets thin fast. If Claypool can prove he still has burst and does not turn into a locker-room problem, there is a real role available.
That is a big if. The Colts organization is buttoned up and demands professionalism. Head coach Shane Steichen has not tolerated dead weight. Claypool would be walking into a program that will not put up with anything less than full effort at every practice.
The fact that the Colts brought him in at all suggests someone in the building thinks the talent is still worth exploring. Teams do not waste workout slots during training camp on players they have zero interest in. Someone made the call to fly him out and put him through the paces.
Whether that turns into a contract likely comes down to two things. First, how he actually looked in the workout compared to his old self. Second, whether the Colts see any red flags after talking to him in person about the last few chapters of his career.
Claypool is running out of chances. Wide receivers who sit out two full NFL seasons and get shopped around usually do not find their way back. This might be his last legitimate opportunity to prove that the guy from Pittsburgh is still in there somewhere.
If Indianapolis passes, expect other teams battling receiver injuries in the coming weeks to at least kick the tires. There is always a market for a big body with 4.4 speed, even one carrying this much baggage.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
