Chicago Bears move forward without nose tackle Jeremiah Ratliff on their roster and sign Ziggy Hood instead.

The release of Ratliff, the defensive lineman who joined the Bears' camp in 2013, per ESPN stats, and the entry of Hood, who was the former first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, was announced by Adam Schefter of ESPN via a Twitter post.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace issued a statement about how this decision will be for the greater good of the Chicago's football team, although he did not fail to thank the 11-year veteran for all the things he did for them, noted ChicagoBears.com.

"We felt moving forward without Jeremiah was in the best interest of our team. We appreciate his contributions and wish him well. We are also excited to be able to add Ziggy Hood to our roster," Pace said in the statement.

However, it appeared that parting between Ratliff and the Bears ended in a tense atmosphere, basing on the tweets of Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times. On one Twitter post, Jahns said that the Pro-Bowl player was even "escorted out of Halas Hall" by the members of the security working for the Bears and he had an "animated exchange" with Pace outside the hall.

In another post on Twitter, Jahns noted that the Lake Forest police arrived at the hall even after Ratliff was escorted out from it. What has specifically happened in Halas Hall still remains a mystery.

Ratliff spent eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys since 2005, per ESPN stats. Last season, the Georgia-born football player was able to deliver 6.5 sacks and 37 combined tackles, where 16 of which where assisted ones.

This 2015-2016 season, the 34-year-old athlete only played for two games as he was suspended in the first three plays due to a drunk driving-related incident in January 2013, in violation of Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse imposed by NFL, noted ChicagoBears.com. He then reportedly missed the fourth game due to an ankle injury.

Hood is in

Meanwhile, Hood, who spent five seasons with the Steelers since 2009 and one year with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2014-2015 season, just entered the Bears at the right time. The 28-year-old player was just released on Tuesday, Oct. 20 by the Jags right after being activated from the team's injured list, Jaguars.com announced.

The Texas-born player delivered 164 tackles, 12.5 sacks and five fumble recoveries in his entire career, per ESPN stats. He also managed to perform 24 quarterback hits, according to the Bears' site.

Related