Pro Bowlers Kevin Byard and Nahshon Wright's Pro Bowl handshake fuels speculation. Do these top Bears defenders want to stay and play together?
Free agency is something every NFL team is going to have to deal with, and the Chicago Bears are no different.
The most significant contract decisions surround safeties Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker. Both have been very vocal about wanting to stay in Chicago.
Others like Olamide Zaccheaus, Braxton Jones, Theo Benedet, Jonathan Owens, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Nahshon Wright are hitting the free agent market as well.
Ahead of the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl is taking place in San Francisco. Initially, the Bears had three players make it. Joe Thuney, Byard and Drew Dalman were all voted to the Pro Bowl.
However, there was a recent addition from the Bears, as Wright was added to the roster recently in place of Philadelphia Eagles corner Quinyon Mitchell.
One of the events on Monday was a scavenger hunt among all the Pro Bowlers. Byard and Wright made a statement during the event.
One of the prompts that players were given was to shake hands with someone they wished they could play with. Wright immediately found Byard and shook his hand. The two didn't say anything else, but they made a gesture.
Byard and Wright both shrugged at the camera, hinting that they want to play together again with the Bears.
Re-signing Byard and Wright seems like a no-brainer.
Byard's two-year, $15 million contract is up, and Wright's one-year, $1.1 million deal recently expired. Both had excellent seasons.
Byard led the NFL with seven interceptions and also recorded 93 total tackles. Wright had five interceptions, 80 total tackles, three TFLs, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Wright has been receiving a lot of attention lately, even from the likes of former NFL quarterback Tom Brady. Brady awarded Wright the honor of his LFG Best Value Player of the Year.
The veteran corner has already been with multiple teams. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. He spent three seasons there before joining the Minnesota Vikings in 2024.
He only spent one year with Chicago, but made a lasting impact on the team. With the injuries that piled up in the secondary, Wright was an anchor at times.
Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson both missed significant time due to injury, and Wright held things down until they were healthy.
Wright and Byard are just two of the offseason decisions that General Manager Ryan Poles will have to consider. Hopefully, we'll see them in a Bears uniform in 2026.