Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has seen enough antics out of wide receiver Chase Claypool. Thursday night against the Minnesota Vikings may have been the final straw as Claypool showed zero display of professionalism or clock awareness.
The latest Claypool circus was displayed during the fourth quarter against the Vikings. The Steelers were driving in the final minute, down by eight and Claypool decided to celebrate his fourth-down catch instead of getting right back into the huddle.
The seconds ticked away while the Steelers didn't have any timeouts left and it got even worse when offensive lineman Trai Turner ran over and tried to get the football off of Claypool and it ended up rolling around on the ground, wasting even more time.
The Steelers wide out had this to say after the game:
Definitely, I've got to be better. I got tackled near the hash, did my little first-down point, went to hand the ball to the ref. He just got there. Even if I got right up and looked for him, he wasn't there. He ran down the field to come get the ball. The ball got knocked out of my hands. That is what cost us time. But I definitely do have to be better. I knew the situation.
When coach Tomlin was asked if he ever expects Claypool to get over mental mistakes and become a Pro Bowler, he responded "we'll see". The Steelers went on to lose the game and now drop to 6-6-1 on the season. Here's the play that everyone is talking about for all the wrong reasons:
Chase Claypool made some big grabs tonight, but the situational awareness here is so bad. Pittsburgh had no timeouts left. Claypool makes the catch, decides to celebrate, an offensive lineman tries to get the ball but it rolls away. Clock ticks, ticks...pic.twitter.com/w3IBaQacjV
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 10, 2021
Photo credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
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