In addition to his ball-hawking skills, Kevin Byard III provided the Chicago Bears with invaluable leadership, often placing him at the center of pre-game huddles as the team rattled off 11 wins en route to an NFC North title and a playoff victory against the Green Bay Packers.
The veteran safety is on an expiring contract. So if 2025 was Byard’s final season in Chicago, he’ll be missed by Bears fans. However, it is worth pointing out that Byard says there is “mutual interest” in a return to the team in 2026. More on that, as well as the All-Pro safety’s stellar season.
Kevin Byard III’s 2025 Snapshot
During Tuesday’s Pro Bowl Games, the veteran safety intercepted Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders early in the first quarter. Fitting, considering Byard’s knack for the football in 2025, when he led the NFL with seven interceptions.
Death. Taxes. And Kevin Byard getting his hands on an interception. #ExtendHim pic.twitter.com/EpzDU1QVnr
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) February 4, 2026Chicago’s defense was more opportunistic than good this season, ranking first in the league with 23 interceptions as a unit, with Byard leading the charge. Byard’s league-best seven picks not only earned him a trip to Santa Clara for the Pro Bowl Games, but also a spot on the AP First-Team All-Pro list this season. He also logged 93 tackles, and his 74.2 overall grade at PFF ranked 20th among all qualified defenders at the position.
Byard had many impactful interceptions this season that helped lead Chicago to those 11 regular-season wins, including this one against Philadelphia, a win in which things started to feel more real than a fairy tale for the Bears.
Who leads the NFL in interceptions?KEVIN. MF. BYARD. pic.twitter.com/wdOf0YQEfG
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) November 28, 2025By the Numbers
Tackles: 93 Solo: 68 Assisted: 25 Interceptions: 7 Passes Defended: 8Kevin Byard III’s Contract Status
(Contract details and figures are courtesy of Over The Cap)
Byard signed a two-year, $15 million contract with the Bears in 2024 and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this March when the new league year begins. He will turn 33 in August. And with four safeties on expiring contracts, Chicago will have some important decisions to make in the coming weeks on how they want their defensive backfield to look in 2026.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn ImagesTurning the Page
There’s no questioning the impact Byard has made during his first two years in Chicago. The question now becomes, can the two sides make the money work to keep the veteran safety in the fold?
Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles called Byard a “special player” that he would like to have back in 2026 during his end-of-season press conference last month.
“We’re going to take a step back and evaluate that and put that puzzle together,” Poles said. “I have a lot of faith in our process that we’ll do that. Kevin’s a special player. I have no problem saying that’s a player that we would like to have back. But, again, when you add the other safeties into that mix and all the other decisions we have across the roster, with cap restraints and things like that, it’ll be a challenge. But that’s part of what we do.”
Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesByard heard that loud and clear and made sure everyone else did, too, when he was asked about his future during the festivities in Santa Clara this week.
“I think I was one of the only guys he actually brought up by name,” Byard said (via CHGO). “It’s always good to hear the GM say that they want you back. I’ve had meetings with (Poles) and Ben, and they’ve basically all echoed the same thing. And I said the same thing as well, like, if all else is fair and all else is equal, everything is equal, then I would love to come back to the Bears. The city, the organization has embraced myself and my family. We had such a great year this year.”
THIS IS A KEVIN BYARD APPRECIATION POST
The sticking point for me there is the phrasing “if all else is fair and all else is equal.” That feels like a warning that there will be no hometown discount for the veteran safety who earned his third first-team All-Pro selection this season and is playing some of the best football of his career.
Time will tell how Poles and the front office sees the situation in terms of “all things fair and equal.” But for now, it’s hard not to appreciate how good Byard has been during his two seasons in Chicago.
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