The Zah Frazier Situation Just Got Even Weirder

The Chicago Bears must be happy with their 2025 draft class so far. Most of their picks have stood out positively in some way or another. Colston Loveland and Luther Burden both look like immediate weapons on offense. Ozzy Trapilo should make a solid swing tackle. Ruben Hyppolite is already establishing himself on special teams. Luke Newman arguably had the best preseason of any offensive lineman on the team and Kyle Monangai flashed enough to believe he'll get lots of carries. The lone exception to all of that is Zah Frazier.

Chicago took the cornerback out of UTSA in the 5th round. His mix of size, length, and speed made him a fascinating developmental prospect for secondary coach Al Harris. After things seemed fine in OTAs and minicamps, Frazier vanished. He was nowhere to be found when training camp began and didn't resurface until the end of the preseason. Some took that as a sign he was ready to resume practice. Instead, the Bears placed him on the NFI (Non-Football Injury) list.

GM Ryan Poles explained the decision, which only created more confusion about what happened.

"For Zah Frazier, a little bit of a complicated deal because he's going to go on NFI. He had a situation that presented itself in a category that I would say '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 the time going to meetings, in the weight room, and with the medical staff to prepare for next season to get ready to play. So, kind of a bummer on the front end, but I think because of everyone's hard work and care here, we got him on the right path."

It sounds like Zah Frazier is dealing with a mental health crisis.

That is the only explanation that fits what is happening. The fact that the Bears are unwilling to disclose information while making it pretty clear that the issue is health-related paints a clear picture. What set everything off is unknown, but apparently happened shortly before Zah Frazier joined the team. Rather than force him to fight for a roster spot amidst whatever had happened, the team elected to let him step away. By the time he returned, it was far too late for him to make a push for a roster spot. To help protect his confidence, they elected to place him on the NFI list. This meant the team avoided cutting him outright. Frazier is free to continue recovering and prepare for a fresh start in 2026.

It isn't the result anybody wanted. Maybe someday we'll get details of what happened. Until then, all we can do is hope he gets better.