The Chicago Bears’ loss is the defending AFC champions’ gain.
Safety Kevin Byard III, who has spent the last two seasons with the Bears, is leaving Chicago to join the New England Patriots via free agency. This news, in isolation, isn’t wholly surprising — especially with the Bears set to give free-agent safety Coby Bryant a boatload of money when the new league year officially opens at 3 p.m. CT on Wednesday. And a reunion with Mike Vrabel, the Patriots head coach who had Byard while with the Tennessee Titans, makes sense. But Byard is reportedly getting a lot less than I thought he would in free agency.
NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero has details:
Three-time Pro Bowl safety Kevin Byard is signing with the Patriots on a one-year, $9 million deal, per sources. Deal negotiated @DavidMulugheta of @AthletesFirst. pic.twitter.com/HT25xrQlpD
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 11, 2026All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to sign with the New England Patriots
I am truly floored by the news of Kevin Byard’s contract with the Patriots being a one-year pact worth $9 million. There was optimism that Byard would return as recently as last week. As for the projected cost, there was an expectation around the league that Byard would fetch a multi-year deal worth more than $10 million per year. Some projections had Byard set to sign a deal that would have been north of $12 million per year. Instead, Byard gets a one-year contract with the Patriots after a season in which he earned first-team All-Pro status, Pro Bowl recognition, and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 15th-best grade among safeties.
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Meanwhile, the Bears are set to pay Coby Bryant on a three-year deal reportedly worth $40 million that includes $25.75 million. That comes out to $13.3 million per year. Sure, Bryant is younger and might provide more positional flexibility. But Byard was a respected veteran and a three-year captain in Chicago who was still playing at a high level. The two sides had openly discussed a desire to keep things going. I wonder what happened to make them go their seperate ways.
I was already looking forward to the upcoming Bears-Patriots matchup because of the head-to-head quarterback battle between Chicago’s Caleb Williams and New England’s Drake Maye. Plus, the chess game featuring Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson and his Patriots counterpart, Mike Vrabel, was going to make this a must-see matchup. Adding a Kevin Byard Revenge Game factor makes it that much more interesting.
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