The offseason of 2025 was one of many firsts. It was also one of some experiments. Whether or not they worked out for the Chicago Bears would be found out eventually.
A particular move that hasn't exactly paid dividends for general manager Ryan Poles has to be the signing of veteran wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus. When the Bears initially signed him, most assumed he would have been a strong WR4 behind D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden.
As the season began and progressed, though, we saw Zaccheaus get far more playing time than he should have, which resulted in some pretty poor production. It is obvious, at this point, that the Zaccheaus signing has completely gone up in flames.
The Bears have to move on from Olamide Zaccheaus in the 2026 offseason
Depending upon which outlet you like or trust, we can talk about a variety of metrics to back up the notion that Zaccheaus has been a flat-out bust of a signing.
Per Pro Football Focus, Zaccheaus has been credited with five drops this year (prior to Week 16). On the season, that equates to a miserable 11.9% drop percentage.
Additionally, out of 82 qualified wide receivers, Zaccheaus ranks 81st in yards per reception. He offers little-to-no creativity or elusiveness after the catch and, in a Ben Johnson offense, that doesn't help a whole lot.
If you look at the other top three wideouts in the same room, all of them offer plenty of yardage in each of their own way; Burden and Moore are obviously the elusive guys after the catch, and Odunze isn't half-bad in that department either. But Odunze is also suitable for the chunk plays.
A lot of fans had wondered why someone like Burden, or even Moore, hadn't gotten involved as consistently earlier this season. The answer lies with Zaccheaus. Johnson opted to play him on a regular basis over the first half of the season and, finally, we've seen his snaps decrease so long as the other three are healthy.
It is painfully clear that he is the outlier. Yes, he has a good relationship with Caleb Williams and, for some reason, the second-year quarterback trusts him. But, there is no more room for Zaccheaus' mediocre-at-best type of play.
Next offseason, the Bears should not only let Zaccheaus go but actively try to find a third wide receiver for when they ultimately trade D.J. Moore -- but that's a whole different story altogether.