Bears GM Ryan Poles, who traded a second-round pick to get Claypool last season, acknowledge a mistake. Unlike other talented-but-problematic NFL receivers, Claypool just wasn’t productive enough to be worth the trouble.
The football diva is not always a team-killer. Some players not only thrive on that persona, but depend on it. It’s fuel for their massive ego.
It’s the finest of lines, but some of those ego-driven players wear it well. Guys like Brandon Marshall, Chad Johnson and — back in the day — Deion Sanders wouldn’t have been the same player if they had Darnell Mooney’s disposition. Being “The Beast” or “Ocho Cinco” or “Neon Deion” made them the players they were.
But there’s one rule about being a diva that is universal to all sports: You have to produce. You have to earn the right to be the star, to throw the sideline fit, to trash talk, to call out the coaches, to make yourself the victim, to dog it every now and then, to be coddled and to get away with making it all about you. You have to be worth the trouble.
Chase Claypool was not. The former Notre Dame star broke the biggest rule of diva-dom — he didn’t produce. He’s just another talented player who needs a lot of things in place for him to succeed — the right quarterback, the right system, the right role.
