Even after leaving the Bears, Kevin Byard champions Caleb Williams, believing the rookie QB possesses clutch ability and MVP potential.
The Chicago Bears had one of the toughest decisions to make this offseason.
The Bears decided not to re-sign starting safeties Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker. Byard departed for the New England Patriots, as he is back with his old head coach, Mike Vrabel.
Byard and Vrabel spent many years together at the Tennessee Titans. Byard went to the Pro Bowl twice with the Titans.
Brisker had a different kind of reunion, heading back to his home state of Pennsylvania to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Monroeville, Pennsylvania native played college football at Penn State.
The Byard departure hit even harder, especially after ESPN1000's David Kaplan shared that contract negotiations were going well.
Although Byard is no longer with the Bears, he still has a lot of praise for his former teammates, especially quarterback Caleb Williams. Byard formed a bond with rookie tight end Colston Loveland early last season, creating the nickname "3rd and Colston" for the tight end's clutch factor.
Byard had a recent interview with NFLonCBS and shared that he wouldn't rather have any other quarterback than Williams with the game on the line. He caught himself and mentioned Drake Maye, but it was clear that Byard still has a lot of belief in Williams.
"Well, he already has the nickname Iceman, and the reason why is because, young quarterbacks obviously, they're gonna need time to develop," Byard said. "But when you talk about game on the line, and we need him to make a play, there's really nobody I'd rather have under center. Outside of Drake Maye, now."
Byard even said that he believes an MVP is in Williams' future.
"The sky's the limit for this guy," Byard said. "I think personally I truly believe that he's gonna be the MVP one day, and I think it's probably gonna be sooner rather than later."
It's great to see a player like Byard, who is no longer with the Bears, still have a high level of respect for one of his former teammates.
Williams has definitely proven he can make plays when the lights are the brightest. We saw his numerous fourth-quarter comebacks for the Bears last season.
Williams broke the Bears' single-season passing yards record in 2025, but it won't be an easy task for him to win an MVP award. With his skillset, I think Bears fans would agree with Byard that Williams' trajectory is truly limitless.
It will all depend on how he continues to progress throughout his Bears career.