In recent Buffalo Bills history, Chase Claypool has emerged as the team’s most productive wide receiver. In Western New York, there’s a new No. 14, so get out your sewing machines.
The Buffalo Bills have allocated wide receiver Chase Claypool the uniform number 14, which he signed recently. With Stefon Diggs‘ offseason departure, the number has returned to the team’s receiving group.
Buffalo Bills WR Chase Claypool (@ChaseClaypool) is wearing number 14. Last assigned to Stefon Diggs. #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/fgQzbcIAi3
— NFL Jersey Numbers (@nfl_jersey_num) May 3, 2024
After Diggs, who was traded to the Houston Texans in April, established himself as one of the NFL’s top wide receivers during his four years with the Bills, Buffalo fans have been accustomed to expecting success from the uniform number.
During his time with the team, he caught 445 passes for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns, making him Buffalo’s fourth-all-time top wideout and earning two All-Pro choices.
Does the Diggs Number weigh heavy for Chase Claypool ?
Only marginally less amazing than Diggs’ resume is Claypool’s. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Claypool in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he showed promise, with 889 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns overall. Despite finishing the 2021 NFL season with 956 yards from scrimmage, he saw a sharp decline in his scoring output, going from 11 touchdowns to just two.
Claypool was moved to the Chicago Bears in the middle of the 2022 season due to effort problems and the rise of wide receiver George Pickens.
As Chicago’s offense faltered and character concerns grew, the Bears traded him to the Miami Dolphins in 2023. In the 19 games he played in Miami and Chicago combined, Claypool caught 22 passes for 217 yards.
The Buffalo Bills signed him as a low-risk, (possibly) high-reward reclamation project, hoping to salvage something from the physically gifted 25-year-old who previously set a personal best time of 4.42-seconds in the 40-yard sprint. With Diggs and Gabriel Davis gone, he has a chance to establish himself in Buffalo’s redesigned receiving corps, but he’s probably just a camp body who gets cut before Week 1.
With Claypool’s history of wearing different jersey numbers—he has never worn No. 14—this number assignment may be the most intriguing (or humorous).