2 min read • March 18, 2022
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Larry Ogunjobi, the free agent pass rusher, agreed to terms with the Chicago Bears, but did not pass the physical and will not be signed by Chicago.
Ogunjobi injured his right foot in the Wild Card loss to the Raiders and missed the rest of the playoffs before undergoing surgery.
Details about Ogunjobi's surgery were not disclosed, but the Bears saw enough in the foot injury to change course on signing him.
The reason why this doesn't happen often is players and agents usually allow access to physical and medical information through electronic medical records prior to agreement on
terms.
Obviously the Bears physicians felt that he was not ready to go today, but often team physicians can project whether the player will be healthy enough for the start of the season.
This does not mean Ogunjobi cannot play this year and certainly doesn't mean he won't sign with another team. One team's medical evaluation does not always match another team's medical evaluation.
This change of course can happen but is not frequent. One very public example was Rodger Saffold with the then Oakland Raiders, which Dr. David Chao, ProFootballDoc, wrote about back then for Yahoo Sports.
Saffold failed the physical for shoulder instability, but resigned with his original team, the Rams, and played all season with a brace.
We remain confident that Ogunjobi will find a landing spot, it just won't be in Chicago and not under the current terms.
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