Rookie season: Bears get first look at their draft picks, UDFAs, plus one vet with local ties

Friday was the first opportunity for the Bears rookie class to work with the Bears coaches. The team’s seven draft picks, 13 undrafted free-agent signings and dozens of rookies all worked out for a chance to impress the Bears coaching staff and earn a role on the roster.

The Bears will host one more practice Saturday before combining the rookies with their veterans Monday for offseason workouts. Here are three of the most interesting things Bears coach Ben Johnson said Friday.

On the Bears waiving Zah Frazier

Chicago made a somewhat surprising move Thursday when it decided to waive cornerback Zah Frazier.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles drafted Frazier in the fifth round out of Texas-San Antonio last year and hoped the rookie could make an impact in the cornerback room. But Frazier missed all of training camp and last season due to what the team called personal reasons.

“Zah’s a guy we’ve had here for over a year,” Johnson said. “It’s just one of those things when we’re looking at the roster, where he’s at, where we’re at, it was time to part ways. Appreciate everything that he contributed while he was here. It opens up a roster spot and opportunity to make this team.”

The Bears changed their tune on Frazier the past few months. Poles hoped that Frazier could come back this offseason when he met with reporters in January at the end of last year’s playoff run. Frazier had the speed and length that made him an enticing selection.

But Chicago’s plan changed and ultimately led to Thursday’s decision.

“We were hopeful,” Johnson said. “It just wasn’t going that direction. The trajectory was off so we decided to go a different direction.”

On wide receiver depth

Although the two-day minicamp is mostly for rookies, there were some other players competing to earn a roster spot with the Bears.

The most notable veteran was Barrington native Scotty Miller. He’s spent five years in the NFL with three teams, most recently the Pittsburgh Steelers for two seasons. Miller also won Super Bowl 60 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2020 season.

Over seven seasons, Miller amassed 1,216 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He had a career-high 501 receiving yards with the Buccaneers in 2020 and has a history with Bears wide receiver coach Antwaan Randle El.

“Randle El was with him when he was a young buck there in Tampa,” Johnson said. “So there is some shared experiences. Looking forward to seeing him run around and compete a little bit. From afar, I’ve been able to see the speed, the quickness. Certainly very intriguing.”

Johnson said he’s liked what he’s seen from his wide receivers in the limited work on the field they’ve had during offseason workouts. The Bears are expecting Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III to each take steps, while free-agent addition Kalif Raymond and third-round draft pick Zavion Thomas can make an impact.

But the Bears are always looking to add competition to the room.

“My experience has been you can’t have enough of those guys,” Johnson said. “Particularly over the course of training camp, you know guys are going to get dinged up. So you need to have a stable of those guys to be able to ensure you get enough reps for the quarterbacks and everyone else. So I think that depth is going to be one of the things we’re on the lookout for here over the course of the spring and training camp. But I do feel good about how that room complements each other right now.”

On rookies joining the mix

Johnson and his coaching staff started rookie minicamp at a different spot compared to last year.

Last time around, Johnson held his first practice as a head coach with his new coaching staff. This time Johnson and his coaches know what the expectations are for each practice and how they want the rookies to fit in.

“We’re trying to do the same thing,” Johnson said. “It really doesn’t change a whole lot for us. But for them, each college program is a little bit different. Some are run these days a little bit like a professional program, so the transition I would imagine will be a lot cleaner. But that’s not everybody. We’re looking to establish what that looks like for us on a daily basis, what our expectations are, get to know the people not only in the locker room that they’re interacting with every day, but just around the building that are here to provide resources to them to be the best players they can possibly be.”

Once the rookies catch up to speed, both Johnson and Poles are expecting them to compete. All of the Bears rookie draft picks and undrafted free-agent signings will try to prove themselves over the month before the team breaks for the summer.

“Expectation for them is to learn our way of doing things, how we go about our business in the meeting room, walk through, practice field, what that looks like,” Johnson said. “As soon as they pick that up, then they’ll really be able to compete for what is their niche this year. Can they provide value for this football team? Is it special teams? Is competing for playing time on offense or defense? That’s really up to them. Learning our way of life is first and foremost.”