Bears Sign Former All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to Two-Year Contract
The Bears are trying to bolster their secondary with a veteran presence signing former Titans All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to a two-year contract Sunday. The deal has a base salary of $15 million according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Source: The #Bears are signing All-Pro S Kevin Byard to a 2-year deal worth $15M base.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 10, 2024
The contract is likely to be heavily incentive-based after the 30-year old had his worst career season in 2023 with just one interception and only 47 tackles. He split between Tennessee and the Philadelphia Eagles who traded for him at the deadline.
The undersized Byard was an absolute ballhawk for the Titans with 27 career interceptions including a whopping 8 of them in 2017. His last full season in Tennessee in 2022 he had 4 picks and 122 tackles which certainly would be more than acceptable for the Bears.
The Middle Tennessee alum will be paired up with the talented young safety Jaquan Brisker in Chicago. If Byard can recapture the pre-2023 magic the Bears defense might continue it’s rapid improvement from late last season. It’s definitely a worthwhile gamble for such a reasonable price.
