6 Bears Unlikely to Return in 2025 After Poor Start to Season

5. Zacch Pickens, defensive line

Not that you just cut every player who struggles in their first couple of NFL seasons, but the NFL is known as the "Not For Long" league for a reason.

Teams grow impatient with players, or they see patterns developing with guys, and when you know you can't rely on someone, you might be willing to move on even if you once held them in high regard as a prospect.

It might feel a bit premature to say the Bears are ready to cut bait with defensive lineman Zacch Pickens -- a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft -- but it's also not out of the question. Pickens played rather sparingly as a rookie despite dressing for all 17 games, racking up 20 total tackles on 264 total snaps (25 percent of the Bears' defensive snap share).

This season, Pickens is dealing with a groin injury and has been limited to just one game appearance and seven total snaps defensively.

Not great.

Pickens was the 64th overall pick in last year's draft, so it's not like the Bears just threw a dart before the end of day two. They are significantly invested in this guy. Just like every top 75 draft choice, you want to see return on your investment rather quickly, but the Bears may have to exercise patience with a player like Pickens. He hasn't been able to get on the field or stay on the field to this point, and if he can't get healthy enough to show them something in 2024, he might not be in the team's plans for 2025 and beyond.