Former Chicago Bears Player Has Died

Jon Morris, the veteran center who closed his 15-year professional career with the Chicago Bears in 1978, died October 15, 2026, at age 84.

The New England Patriots Hall of Famer’s brief but notable chapter in Chicago came as a free-agent signing that brought experienced depth to an offensive line supporting one of the franchise’s rising stars.

The Bears signed Morris on August 2, 1978, after the Detroit Lions released him following three seasons as their starting center. At 36, he joined a unit coached by Jerry Frei under first-year head coach Neill Armstrong.

Morris appeared in 10 games as a backup, wearing No. 63 behind primary center Dan Neal, and did not start.

He provided a steady veteran presence during a 7-9 season in which the Bears finished fourth in the NFC Central and missed the playoffs.

Walter Payton led the ground game that year, and Morris’s experience from more than a decade of full-time snaps helped stabilize the interior when called upon.

Morris’s path to Chicago followed an accomplished career that began in the AFL.

A second-round NFL draft pick of the Green Bay Packers and a fourth-round selection of the Boston Patriots in 1964, he chose New England and became a cornerstone.

He earned six consecutive AFL All-Star nods from 1964 to 1969, first-team All-AFL honors in 1966, and the franchise’s first Pro Bowl selection in 1970 after the merger.

He played 11 seasons with the Boston/New England Patriots before productive stops in Detroit, where teammates voted him Offensive Player of the Year in 1975 and Most Valuable Player in 1977.

In Chicago, the role was more limited, yet it completed a durable career that spanned 182 games and 167 starts. Morris announced his retirement in January 1979.

After football he worked as a radio color commentator for Patriots broadcasts and later as an NFL analyst.

He was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2011 and named to the team’s 50th-anniversary squad.

For Bears fans, Morris represents a late-career addition who contributed quietly during a transitional period under Armstrong and alongside Payton’s ascent.

His professionalism and longevity on the offensive line offered a model of reliability in an era when interior linemen often labored without fanfare.

The Bears organization and its alumni community join in remembering a player whose final season in the orange and blue closed a long and distinguished pro career.