Bears cut Jeremiah Ratliff after heated exchange at team facility

Chicago Bears defensive lineman Jeremiah “Jay” Ratliff got into a heated exchange outside Halas Hall, the team’s training facility in Lake Forest, Ill., on Wednesday and was released on Thursday. The story was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Ratliff reportedly showed up to the facility “in no condition to practice,” per the Chicago Tribune. When he was informed he would not be practicing, Ratliff reportedly was animated and angered. Bears GM Ryan Pace was present for the argument with Ratliff, as was the Bears’ security team and, eventually, Lake Forest police.

Ratliff, 34, reportedly returned to Halas Hall twice after initially being escorted off the campus. There was at least one more verbal altercation with Pace outside Halas Hall as cop cars circled around.

The Bears then released the 10th-year veteran the following day.

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“We felt moving forward without Jeremiah was in the best interest of our team,” Pace said in a team statement. “We appreciate his contributions and wish him well.”

From a football standpoint, this hurts the Bears temporarily. He was considered a leader by coaches and a consistent performer on a defense that remains a work in progress as it transitions to a 3-4 scheme with some ill-fitting 4-3 personnel remaining.

The Bears replaced Ratliff by signing Ziggy Hood, who was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier in the week.

Ratliff has had a reputation for having a fast heartbeat for years, and this was not his first incident with the Bears.

Last season, Ratliff caused some commotion the day after Christmas, which would end up being the Bears’ final regular-season practice of the year. He was suspended the first three games of this season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy following a guilty plea in a January 2013 DWI case.

Ratliff also got into a fight with former Bears teammate Will Montgomery at training camp this August. As a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Ratliff reportedly had to be separated from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones during a heated exchange, and the nose tackle — who was hurt at the time — never played another game for the Cowboys.

Now his Bears tenure is over, too. Head coach John Fox clearly is favoring team chemistry and youth over immediate returns, and the Bears aren’t so desperate to win games now and keep a potential distraction in the locker room. Seems like a smart approach.