After missing his entire rookie season for personal reasons, the ball-hawking UTSA product finds himself off the roster as Chicago prioritizes new talent ahead of minicamp.
The Chicago Bears selected eight players in the 2025 NFL Draft.
It started with Colston Loveland, 10th overall. The move was questioned at first, but Loveland proved he deserved to be taken that high over the course of his rookie year.
Following Loveland were Luther Burden, Ozzy Trapilo, Shemar Turner, Ruben Hyppolite II, Zah Frazier, and Kyle Monangai.
Burden, Trapilo, and Monangai made immediate impacts. The three were all starters at one point in their rookie seasons.
Turner, unfortunately, suffered a torn ACL and missed the entire season. Hyppolite played in seven games with one start. He was used mostly on special teams and as a reserve linebacker.
His one start was against the Pittsburgh Steelers when the Bears were thin at linebacker. However, two weeks earlier, he suffered a knee injury that limited his availability.
After that Steelers game, he didn't play in another game his rookie season.
Then, there was Frazier.
He missed the entire 2025 season, but not because of an injury. Frazier didn't play due to personal reasons.
After missing his rookie year, the Bears decided to waive the former fifth-round pick on Thursday.
Frazier played college football at UTSA from 2022-24.
He had a relatively quiet first two years of college football. In 2022, he recorded seven total tackles. In 2023, he played in five games and had three total tackles.
Frazier had his breakout year in 2024. He led the American Conference with six interceptions and also had 24 total tackles and one TFL.
This decision by the Bears was interesting. Little has been released about why they decided to waive him.
One reason could have been the Bears' drafting Malik Muhammad. Muhammad is an experienced corner and was predicted to potentially beat Tyrique Stevenson for the No. 2 CB role on defense.
The move comes just one day before the Bears' rookie minicamp.
Recognizable college players like Miller Moss, Caden Barnett, and Jaren Kump are among the undrafted free agents whom the team has already signed. Even more undrafted free agents are trying out.
At the end of the day, this pick was a miss by General Manager Ryan Poles. We'll have to wait and see how the 2026 NFL Draft class fares.
The Bears took Dillon Thieneman, Logan Jones, Sam Roush, Zavion Thomas, Muhammad, Keyshaun Elliott and Jordan Van Den Berg.
It seems there are more questions than answers at the moment regarding Frazier. Sadly, his time with the Bears has been cut short.