Following the departure of elite starters, veteran safety Coby Bryant arrives in Chicago to anchor a revamped secondary and mentor first-round rookie standout Dillon Thieneman.
The backend of the Chicago Bears secondary will have two new starters this season.
The Bears saw Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker depart in free agency. Byard is now reunited with his former head coach, Mike Vrabel, and Brisker is with the Pittsburgh Steelers, as he returns to his home state.
Even if the Bears lost just one of these players, it would've been a massive loss.
Byard led the NFL with seven interceptions, and accounted for 93 total tackles, and four TFLs. Brisker recorded 93 total tackles, one sack, one interception and one TFL in his final season with Chicago.
After losing two valuable starters, Ryan Poles went to work in free agency.
He added Coby Bryant from the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks. Poles then drafted Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman No. 25 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Both Bryant and Thieneman will have a learning curve as they adjust to a new system under defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
However, after what Bryant said after the end of the team's mandatory minicamp, Bears fans should feel good about safety this year.
Bryant discussed his role as the veteran safety and his readiness to mentor a young player like Thieneman.
"Yeah, honestly, the biggest thing is taking care of his body and being coachable, which he is," Bryant said. "He's very, very smart, intelligent. Obviously, the tape speaks for itself as well, too. But, it's going to be a long year for him, you know, just coming from the combine and just all the meetings and everything. So, just taking care of his body and taking it one week at a time. I'm always there for him."
Bryant didn't play a full season for the Seahawks, appearing in 15 games, but was still able to account for 66 total tackles, four interceptions, one forced fumble and four TFLs.
Thieneman played a lot of different roles for Oregon in college, so he is a very intriguing player for Allen to work with.
Losing veterans like Byard and Brisker is tough, but having another player like Bryant that can come in and continue that role as a leader in the locker room has to be a great feeling.
Poles carefully built this locker room over the last few years, with players like Byard, Grady Jarrett and Case Keenum coming in to help the Bears with their veteran wisdom.
Now, Bryant is keeping that trend going into 2026.
