Veteran safety's productive season ends with a significant free agency signing. Is Chicago moving on from their interception leader?
The Chicago Bears may have tipped their hand on whether or not they are going to re-sign safety Kevin Byard on Monday during the NFL's legal tampering period.
Byard's contract is up after what was a productive year for the veteran safety in Chicago. He had an NFL-leading seven interceptions, with 93 total tackles and four TFLs.
Spotrac lists Byard's market value at $15.7 million, which isn't too high a price to pay if the Bears want to bring him back.
The Bears retained D'Marco Jackson, Braxton Jones and Case Keenum. The Bears then signed free agents Coby Bryant, Cam Lewis, Neville Gallimore, Kalif Raymond and Devin Bush.
The one name that stands out in that list is Bryant. Bryant signed a three-year, $40 million deal with Chicago. With how much the Bears paid Bryant, this could mean that Byard's time with the organization is coming to an end.
The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs believes it's a sign that the team is ready to move on from Byard. During a recent appearance on 104.3 The Score, Biggs thought Bryant's signing was the end for Byard in Chicago.
“The arrival of Coby Bryant makes it unlikely Kevin Byard would re-sign with the Bears," Biggs said. "I think I’ve been pretty adamant all along that I don’t think there’s a future with the organization for Jaquan Brisker. I think they’re moving on there.”
The initial thought was that the Bears could also re-sign Byard or Jaquan Brisker back for 2026. Byard's market value made his return seem more likely than Brisker's, since the Penn State product was going to be priced out of Chicago.
However, after the move that the Bears made to bring in Bryant, it looks like neither Brisker nor Byard will be back in the Windy City next season.
This would be a big blow for the franchise, as a player of Byard's talents not only brings his veteran presence on the field, but also off the field, as a great locker-room personality.
Byard has been with the Bears since 2024 and recently reached the Pro Bowl for the third time in his career in 2025.
Before that, he had a short stint with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023 after being traded from the Tennessee Titans halfway through the season. He made the Pro Bowl twice with the Titans in 2017 and 2021.
If what Biggs says is true, then Byard's time with the Bears is truly over, which is a sad reality for fans to come to terms with.