A fifth-round draft pick by the Bears won’t play this year due to a “personal” reason.
General manager Ryan Poles revealed Tuesday the team placed cornerback Zah Frazier on the reserve/non-football injury (NFI) list while he has missed all of training camp, according to ESPN.
“A little bit of a complicated deal because he’s going to go on NFI,” Poles said. “He had a situation that presented itself in a category that I would say (is) personal. 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. So, he’ll be down for the year but he’ll spend time going to meetings, in the weight room and the medical staff preparing for next season to get ready to play.”
The Bears drafted Frazier with the 169th overall pick out of UTSA, but he last practiced during the team’s May rookie minicamp, according to ESPN.
Frazier, 24, reportedly made an appearance at the Aug. 20 training camp while on a golf cart alongside Bears staffers.
“Kind of a bummer on the front end,” Poles said, “but I think because of everyone’s hard work and care here we got him on the right path.”
The Bears took a shot on Frazier despite him being an older prospect.
Frazier’s ESPN draft profile said he “possesses a rare blend of length, speed, size and potential,” and he ranked second in FBS with six interceptions.
“He reroutes and widens receivers with his long arms when he gets his hands on them. He ran the fifth-fastest 40 for the corners at the combine (4.36) and stays stride for stride with receivers on tape,” ESPN’s Steve Muench wrote. “Frazier closes well and jumps routes while breaking on passes. His length, range and eyes make him effective in zone coverage too. … He misses some tackles, but he’s a good run defender for a corner and has the size to continue to get better.”
As the Bears will be without Frazier, they activated star corner Jaylon Johnson in hopes of having him ready for the Week 1 showdown vs. the Vikings on “Monday Night Football.”
Chicago is hoping to contend this year with new coach Ben Johnson, who will look to elevate quarterback Caleb Williams after an uneven rookie season by the 2024 No. 1 pick.