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The Chicago Bears and veteran safety Kevin Byard agreed to a two-year deal worth $15 million on Sunday afternoon, according to several reports.
Byard, 30, has played in 130 total games throughout his eight-year NFL career and has not missed any due to injury. The former third-round pick from Middle Tennessee in 2016 has 28 total interceptions, 748 total tackles and 66 passes defensed to date.
General manager Ryan Poles needed to find a safety to fill the void left by Eddie Jackson after the team released him in mid February.
Poles elected to go with Byard to pair with Jaquan Brisker.
Why the move makes sense
The former two-time All Pro and two-time Pro Bowler (which occurred in 2017 and 2021), adds a veteran presence that was left with Jackson being released. The Bears’ secondary is relatively young. After Byard, Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon and Brisker are all tied at 24 years old. Johnson will be the first to turn 25 in April.
Byard also brings consistency as a tackler. With 8,299 career defensive snaps played, he has just a 6.6% missed tackle rate, according to Pro Football Focus. Jackson in comparison finished his Bears career with a 14.4% missed tackle rate.
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Despite playing six games with the Titans and 10 with the Eagles last season, Byard also finished with a career high 122 total tackles.
Byard did only intercept one pass last season, which was tied for his lowest total since 2020. His three passes defensed in 2023 were also the lowest in his career.
With an excess amount of safeties looking for work heading into free agency, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of deals the other defensive backs sign for in the next coming weeks.
But the Bears added a dependable free safety who should compliment Brisker’s ability to play in the box while keeping the backend of the defense in a position to ascend in 2024.
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