Safety Kevin Byard made strong impression on the Chicago Bears during his 2024 debut. He’s once again expected to be a secondary leader in 2025. But once the season is through Byard’s future with the Bears gets a bit murky.
Not only will the safety be a free agent, but Byard will be entering his age-33 campaign 2026. Even if Chicago does re-sign the veteran, they must soon think about their future at safety.
However, Byard isn’t trying to leave any time soon. He is fully bought into the team’s future and thinks Ben Johnson only has Chicago’s momentum pointing up. As he enters his contract year, Byard is ultimately hoping to sign an extension with the Bears, via the team’s OTAs press conference.
“For me personally, I would love to be here,” Byard said. “I’ve loved being here over the last year and going forward. This thing is year-to-year and honestly, it’s probably going to be year-to-year for the rest of my career until I’m done playing. Regardless of whatever kind of contract I signed, this is always going to be year-to-year.”
“I put everything, my heart and my soul into this year, to this team, to this group of guys, and then we revisit those things in the offseason,” Byard continued. “I would love to be here long term, to finish my career with the Chicago Bears. That’s all I’m focused on right now.”
Kevin Byard’s impact on Chicago Bears
In his first year with the Bears, Byard racked up 130 tackles, seven passes defended, two sacks and an interception. The safety led the team in tackles and ranked third in passes defended. Furthermore, Byard earned a 72.8 grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking 32/171.
But the safety took a major hit due to his work in coverage, where he earned just a 61.6 grade. He ranked eighth in run defense (86) and sixth in pass rush (83). So while new defensive coordinator while need to amp up Byard’s coverage ability, the veteran still has plenty of crafty tools he brings to the table.
Alongside his own work on the field, Byard will be tasked with continuing to mentor Jaquan Brisker. brisker played in just five games during the 2024 season due to a concussion. However, he has shown flashes when healthy. As Brisker makes his return to the field, Byard must be his guide as their communication will be crucial on the secondary’s back end.
It’s telling that the Bears didn’t add a safety in the 2025 NFL Draft. While they selected cornerback Zah Frazier in the safety round, Byard or Brisker weren’t given much competition entering the offseason program. While Chicago could always dip back into the free agency well, for now, the team feels confident with their current depth.
Perhaps that’s a sign they’re willing to continue working with Byard on a year-to-year basis. It seems logical that eventually Chicago will find his long-term replacement. But if the safety continues playing at a high live, the Bears won’t force him out of town.
The 2025 season will be pivotal for everyone on the Bears. But with Byard in a contract year, it’s up to him to prove he still has plenty of gas in the tank and can be dominant force on defense.
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