For a while Qasim Mitchell looked like the Bears’ discovery of the decade, an undrafted free agent who emerged as a starting left tackle at the end of 2003 and for the first 14 games in 2004, earning a contract extension through 2008.
But the clock struck midnight Wednesday for Cinderella when the Bears released the four-year veteran, who lost his starting job at the end of 2004 and played in only three games last season.
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The Bears also released linebacker Stephen Larsen, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2005.
Mitchell, from North Carolina A&T, came into the NFL with the Cleveland Browns in 2002 and the Bears signed him after Cleveland released him in August 2003.
He stepped in at left tackle for injured Mike Gandy late that season and started the first 14 games the following year, signing a three-year extension. But his play declined and he was replaced by Marc Colombo for the final two weeks of 2004.