Bears reach disappointing outcome with 2025 draft pick that never even got a chance to play a snap in Chicago
The Chicago Bears announced on Thursday that the team has released 2025 fifth-round pick Zah Frazier, who missed the entirety of his rookie season.
The Chicago Bears announced a disappointing roster decision on Thursday when the team waived cornerback Zah Frazier, the team’s fifth-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft.
Frazier missed the entirety of his rookie season due to a personal matter and was expected to attend the team’s rookie minicamp as a first-year player this weekend prior to this decision.
The rest of the team’s first-year players, including the seven man draft class and undrafted free agent signings, will be in action for the first time at Halas Hall.
Chicago Bears’ situation with Zah Frazier is unfortunate and changes the outlook at the CB2 spot
Frazier was last on the field for the Bears during rookie minicamp last year after being selected with the 169th overall pick. When the team returned for OTAs, Frazier was not back on the field with the team due to an undisclosed personal reason.
“He had a situation that presented itself in a category that I would say [is] ‘personal,’” general manager Ryan Poles explained last year. “As we dug into it, tried to help him out, it revealed itself as something that happened before he got here. So, credit to our staff finding the root cause of what he was going through. He’ll be down for the year but he’ll spend the time going to meetings, in the weight room and with the medical staff preparing for next season to get ready to play.”
Frazier had a lot of support in the building coming out of the draft. Defensive backs coach Al Harris pounded on the table to draft this guy and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen liked what he saw from Frazier during rookie minicamp.
“Here’s another guy that’s a young, developmental corner. He’s got a lot of things that he’s gotta learn but again he’s got the tools for us to work with,” Allen said. “Who better to work with him than Al Harris. A guy that’s got a similar frame and played a long time in this league and had a lot of success. We’re excited about getting the opportunity to work with him and helping him grow.”
It’s still unclear what happened with Frazier in 2025 and what led to this decision despite the team having faith that he will return. Regardless, the decision was made and it changes the outlook at the outside CB2 spot.
Frazier was one of the players expected to be in contention for the starting role opposite Jaylon Johnson along with Tyrique Stevenson, 2026 fourth-round pick Malik Muhammad, and Terell Smith who’s come off a torn patellar tendon.
It’s still expected to be a healthy battle and Muhammad now becomes an important player to watch going into rookie minicamp this week.