Bears Cut Fifth-Round Pick Just One Year After Drafting Him

The Chicago Bears made a small roster move on Thursday that came as a bit of a surprise to many of the team's fans.

Chicago cut defensive back Zah Frazier just one year after selecting him in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

The 26-year-old cornerback out of UTSA didn't play as a rookie due to personal reasons and was placed on the non-football injury list after participating in rookie minicamp last offseason.

Not much is known about why Frazier sat out his entire rookie season, but general manager Ryan Poles explained that it was something out of their control that happened before he was drafted.

"He had a situation that presented itself in a category that I would say ‘personal,'" Poles told reporters last August. "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."

In three seasons at UTSA, Frazier had a productive career. He totaled 34 tackles, six interceptions, 10 passes defended, and a forced fumble while earning first-team All-AAC honors in 2024.

Many expected Frazier to compete for a spot on the Bears' 53-man roster in training camp. The team added to the secondary in the 2026 draft, picking Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman in Round 1 and Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad, who would've been Fazier's primary competition in Round 4.

With Frazier out of the picture, Chicago has 11 CBs currently under contract - Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson, Jaylon Jones, Josh Blackwell, KC Eziomume, Dallis Flowers, Cam Lewis, Dontae Manning, Muhammad, and Terrell Smith.

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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 8:37 AM.