Chicago Bears Release DT Ego Ferguson

The Chicago Bears have released DT Ego Ferguson.

The Chicago Bears announced that they have released defensive tackle Ego Ferguson. Ferguson was the Bears’ second round draft pick in 2014 out of LSU (51st overall) and the Bears expected big things from Ferguson and thought he would fortify their defensive line. But that never happened and the Bears decided to part ways.

Ferguson had a serviceable rookie season playing all sixteen games and tallying 24 tackles and two sacks. But the wheels fell off after that. Ferguson struggled with health in 2015 and found himself suspended for PEDs in mid-November.

After the preseason in 2016, the Bears were shopping Ferguson but when they found no takers, they waived the defensive tackle. However, they brought him back the next day and placed him on injured reserve stating that he would need shoulder surgery. Ferguson missed the entire season.

With OTAs right around the corner, the Bears decided that it was time, once and for all, to part ways with Ferguson and move on.

Ferguson is one of many draft picks from the Phil Emery era that failed to make any kind of impact with the Bears. The Bears only have six remaining draft picks on the roster that weren’t selected by Ryan Pace- Kyle Long, Kyle Fuller, Will Sutton, Ka’Deem Carey, Pat O’Donnell and Charles Leno. It is also a definite possibility that by week one, only Long, Leno and perhaps Sutton are still on the roster.

The Bears failures in the draft are the number one reason they are where they are. A team cannot sustain success at the NFL level with this type of anemic drafting. Pace saw that issue when he interviewed for the Bears’ GM job and told the brass that he wanted to build this roster through the draft and that is what he will continue to try to do at the end of April.