For the first seven seasons of his NFL career, safety Kevin Byard played with one team, but in the last two years he's donned three different jerseys, getting traded midseason in 2023 and spending the 2024 campaign with the Bears.
Having signed a two-year contract with the Bears ahead of last season, Byard is set to become a free agent after the 2025 campaign. While the safety recently said there haven't been any real talks with Chicago about an extension, he added that with everything he's put into his team in the last year, he'd welcome the chance to stay in the Windy City until the point he's ready to hang up his cleats.
"I put everything, my heart and my soul into this year, to this team, to this group of guys, and then we revisit those things in the offseason," Byard said this week, via team transcript. "I would love to be here long term, to finish my career with the Chicago Bears. That's all I'm focused on right now."
Byard was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Middle Tennessee, rising to prominence quickly. He earned his first Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selections in his sophomore season, during which he co-led the league with eight interceptions and tacked on two fumble recoveries and 16 passes defensed. He added a second Pro Bowl and All-Pro nod in 2021.
But in 2023, the Titans traded Byard to the Eagles six games into the season. He started every game in Philadelphia after his arrival but was released at the end of the year following the Eagles' season-ending collapse, thereafter finding his way to the Bears. Though Byard wasn't able to rack up similar interception numbers as earlier in his career, he had a career-high 130 tackles and was a steady veteran presence through the chaos of the Bears' 2024 campaign.
Now, entering his 10th NFL season and set to turn 32 before Week 1 kicks off, the question for Byard is whether the Bears will be interested in retaining him beyond the upcoming season, and if so, for how long?
Chicago has been willing to dole out deals to key players this offseason, inking cornerback Kyler Gordon, linebacker T.J. Edwards, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney to extensions in the last few months. However, Byard acknowledged that when it comes to his situation and playing at his age, long-term deals might just not be in the cards.
"Like I said, for me personally, I would love to be here," he said. "I've loved being here over the last year and going forward. This thing is year-to-year and honestly, it's probably going to be year-to-year for the rest of my career until I'm done playing. Regardless of whatever kind of contract I signed, this is always going to be year-to-year."
Thus, without the multiyear security afforded to some of his teammates, Byard will be required to show in 2025 why the Bears should continue to put their trust in him after this year. He's nevertheless approaching the situation with a positive mindset, appreciative of what he's accomplished and focused on what he can do for his team with the time he's locked in for now.
"I'm grateful and I'm totally truly blessed to be able to go into my 10th year in this league. That was always my goal when I was a rookie, say I want to play 10 years, but to be in this space, and to still be playing well is truly a blessing," Byard said. "I'm just taking it day-by-day, just having a lot of fun. [We] have goals, big lofty goals for us individually and as a team and for us to be able accomplish those goals. We've got to win ball games. If we win, then we all win and it all takes care of itself."
