Bears waive Zah Frazier after rookie season loss
The Bears waived zah frazier on Thursday, ending the 2025 fifth-round pick’s first run with the club before he ever got on the field. He had spent his rookie season on the non-football injury/illness list after the team learned of a personal issue after the draft.
Ryan Poles and Zah Frazier
Ryan Poles had already set a high bar in January, saying Frazier had a “mountain to climb” to contribute in 2026. That line captured the Bears’ view of where the cornerback stood before Thursday’s move, with his roster spot already under pressure after a lost rookie year.
Frazier’s path got harder in August, when the Bears placed him on the non-football injury/illness list. That designation kept him from participating through his first season, so the waiver move closes off the immediate chance to turn that draft pick into a 2026 contributor in Chicago.
Malik Muhammad Joins Chicago
The Bears had also added another cornerback last month, taking Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad in Round 4. That gave Chicago another young body at the position before Thursday’s decision on Frazier, and it left the rookie minicamp schedule at Halas Hall intact for Friday morning.
For Frazier, the timeline moved from draft pick to unavailable player to waived roster spot in less than a year. For the Bears, the sequence shows how quickly a mid-round corner can lose ground when a season disappears before it starts, especially after the team has already added another draft pick at the same position.
What changes now is simple: Frazier is no longer part of Chicago’s immediate cornerback picture, and the Bears move into rookie minicamp with Malik Muhammad in the mix instead. His release also ends the clearest path he had to build toward a role in 2026 with the team that drafted him.
