Ray McDonald Released by Bears: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The Chicago Bears released defensive lineman Ray McDonald on Monday after the 30-year-old was arrested on charges of misdemeanor domestic violence and child endangerment.    

Damian Trujillo of NBC Bay Area first broke news of McDonald's arrest. Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee notes this is McDonald's "third legal issue in less than a year."

Bears general manager Ryan Pace spoke about the decision to let McDonald go once the team announced it had severed ties with him:

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network had provided the details on McDonald's latest legal problems:

Following the release, Bears chairman George McCaskey commented on his reaction to McDonald, saying, via Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Sadness for the child, for the child's mother and the entire situation."

McCaskey went on to discuss his involvement in the decision to part ways with the defensive end, saying via Jahns: "I wasn’t involved because I didn’t need to be."

McCaskey also touched on the league's domestic violence policy, via Adam Hoge of WGN Radio:

McDonald signed with Chicago in late March as a free agent on a one-year contract, which came with the strict stipulation that he avoid any additional issues away from the gridiron. McDonald's release will save the Bears $1,037,500, per Over the Cap.   

It was a risky move by Pace and Co. just to bring McDonald in. And before he even played a down for the Bears, the defensive lineman lost the opportunity to reward the team for taking a chance on him.

Based on McDonald's checkered past, it's unlikely he'll get another chance to play in the NFL. He'd already accumulated several strikes before this latest misstep and had the benefit of familiarity with Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who coached him in San Francisco.

Pace has done well to build up the Bears defense in his first year as GM, so the organization should be more concerned about the backlash from signing McDonald in the first place than any other ramifications his abrupt departure has from a personnel standpoint.