The Bears waived cornerback Zah Frazier on Thursday, ending a brief and troubled run for the 2025 fifth-round pick before he ever got into a regular-season game. Frazier had spent all last season away from the field after the team described his absence as a personal issue.
Frazier, who drew the Bears’ interest because of his 6-3 frame, was not able to take part in the season after being placed on the non-football injury/illness list in August. That move cost him his rookie year and left him trying to catch up before he had even made his NFL debut.
The timing makes the move more than a routine roster cut. Had Frazier stayed on the team, he would have been eligible to join the rookie minicamp that starts Friday morning at Halas Hall, a chance to begin making up ground in front of coaches who already knew he was behind.
General manager Ryan Poles said in January that Frazier had a mountain to climb to contribute in 2026 because of how much time he had missed. The Bears’ decision on Thursday suggests that climb was steeper than they wanted to carry into the spring.
The roster picture at cornerback also shifted last month when the Bears drafted Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad in Round 4. That addition gave the team another young defensive back to develop while Frazier’s path narrowed after a year lost to off-field issues and the injury list.
For a player taken in the fifth round because the Bears liked his size, the chance never turned into an opportunity. Now Frazier is off the roster before rookie camp begins, and Chicago moves on without waiting to see whether he could finally get on the field.
