Former safety Kevin Byard, who joined the New England Patriots this offseason, enjoyed a fantastic season with the Chicago Bears in 2025, earning First Team All-Pro honors and Pro Bowl recognition.
After leading the league with seven interceptions, the Bears wanted to retain him on the roster, with general manager Ryan Poles saying, “Kevin is one of the leaders on our team, so he’s a guy that we are interested in bringing back, and from there it’s a domino effect of what we can and can’t do, but we’ll start with our own and build off into free agency.”
Well, fast forward, and Byard ended up signing a one-year, $9 million deal with the Patriots. The Bears rebounded with the loss of him and Jaquan Brisker by signing former Seattle Seahawks safety Coby Bryant to a massive three-year, $40 million deal and drafting Dillon Thieneman in the first round, but it’ll be hard for them to replicate the type of season Byard had in 2025.
Speaking of that, Byard recently landed on the NFL’s Top 100 List.
Kevin Byard Receives Career News After Leaving Bears For Patriots
Kevin Byard comes in at No. 61 on the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2026 and received some comments from Indianapolis Colts safety Camryn Bynum.
“He’s balling. I think he’s right now playing like the best safety in the league. …I know he had a game with two picks, and both of them were insane catches, like the ball skills.”
New Orleans Saints safety Jonas Sanker added, “You know if everybody knew how to do it, you know everybody would do it. Having all the interceptions he did just speaks on his ball skills and his ability to process plays fast.”
Even offensive stars like Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers shared his praise for Byard, saying, “He had a good game against us. He kept robbing those little in cuts from the outside. I remember that he was sitting there robbing all of them.”
Now, Byard is entering a new chapter in New England.
A New Era At Safety With Coby Bryant And Dillon Thieneman
GettyLAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS – JUNE 3: Coby Bryant #2 of the Chicago Bears stretches during a Chicago Bears OTA Offseason Workout at Halas Hall on June 3, 2026 in Lake Forest, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
As for the Bears, there’s a lot of excitement in the building with the new safety duo on defense.
According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Dillon Thieneman has already worked into first-team reps during minicamp and has been a ‘sponge’ soaking up all the knowledge he possibly can from the veterans.
“Thieneman worked his way into first-team reps during mandatory minicamp while spending the spring learning Dennis Allen’s defense,” Cronin wrote. “Thieneman has been a sponge, particularly with his teammates in the secondary, and soaked up as much knowledge as he could from fellow safeties Coby Bryant and Elijah Hicks, the latter of whom will push him for playing time.”
As for Coby Bryant, the Bears are getting an experienced safety who can also play in the slot, and a Super Bowl Champion who knows what it takes to go all the way.
Here’s what ESPN’s Matt Bowen had to say regarding Bryant:
“An interchangeable safety with the vision to get a jump on the ball from depth, Bryant had four interceptions in 2025. A good fit as a deep half defender in a zone scheme, Bryant can also spin down to patrol the edges as a cutoff defender. There’s some urgency to his game. Bryant has 7 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 5 passes broken up over his past two seasons.”
It’ll be fun to watch Thieneman and Bryant in Chicago’s backfield for years to come.
Kevin Byard Receives Career News After Leaving Bears For Patriots